Bender Consulting's Disability Inclusion Assessment Product

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, welcome to the show. To everyone in the United States and around the world, I have to tell you, I am so excited to see new countries jumping on board. As I've always said, from China to Australia to Saudi Arabia, you know, it doesn't matter if it's a lot of people or one person. One person can make a difference. Thank you, all of you. And I have to have a shout out to Richard Roberts, my friend. I love him so much. With the State Department, who I first met in South Korea, then went to Japan Japan, and now he is in Brazil. He is a true champion. I'll tell you a little funny story about Richard. Okay, I would be with him in a country and he would say, "Okay, Joyce, now, you know, we have to be somewhat reserved with them and be culturally, politically astute." And I would say, "Okay, okay." And then they would say something inappropriate about people with disabilities, and then he would take off and I would be saying, Hey, hey, remember what you told me? He is a disability rights advocate. I love him so much. And Gangyong Cho in South Korea. Gangyong, I miss you so much. I hope I'll be back to see you in South Korea. And Cheryl Harris, I haven't met you yet in person as I did with my friends in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Panama. But I loved working with you in Tunisia and Libya. And, you know, I just had guests come with the State Department to the United States from Honduras and Venezuela and Nicaragua and Paraguay. And Shelley to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Highmark was kind enough to provide us space. They wanted to talk to me about the employment of people with disabilities, and then Highmark actually sent two EVPs to this meeting to talk to everyone. I mean, this company is so awesome, they are. But Love all of you, and special shout out to Yoshiko, Yoshiko Dart. Every show I give her that shout out because, you know, we have to remember Justin. I get so upset that we don't have a strong history in the schools, a disability history as other groups. So at least I'll do my part, Yoshiko, so everyone remembers the great Justin Dart Jr., your late husband. And I just talked about Highmark. Do you know that Highmark has been the lead sponsor of this show for years? And guess what? Next year is— yes, get ready— 20th anniversary of this show. I cannot believe it. 20 20 years next year, and we'll be doing a lot of celebrating about that on every single show that I'm on. But it's so great, so wonderful. I love voiceamerica.com. I love all my engineers. My new engineer Rachel is just like a rock star. So, you know, I love them all, and I love our guest today. Oh, do I love them because they are part of the Bender family of companies. First, Kris Griffin, who is a Principal Consultant and Senior Search Consultant. Do you know I have known her for many, many years? Many. And we first met in like, I don't know, I think that was 19— '99 or the year 2000. Chris, you'll have to tell me. Is that right?

Yeah, that's right.

Um, in DC, we didn't even know each other, and I have a photograph, and like, she's right behind me. I mean, I think we chatted a little bit. Yeah, we did, about what I do. Uh, but it is— she is such a phenomenal person, really. She, uh, was with EEOC as a commissioner with CEO— EEOC. She was the assistant director of the Office of— I almost said Disability Policy, sorry— Office of Personnel Management. And now, am I blessed that she works with me. So if you're listening to the show, I just want to tell you why she's perfect. Joyce Bender is that she has always been about employment. Oh, I remember, and we'll talk about it, when she fought the fight with them and they had such a high percentage in the federal government, which we'll talk about in a little bit. But, you know, everyone knows my life, Bender Consulting Services, is I'm on a crusade. For the employment of people with disabilities. I am a woman living with disabilities. I have epilepsy, and I'm hard of hearing, and this is my life's work because people with disabilities deserve what everyone else has: freedom through employment. And then we have Sherry La— Sherry— oh, this was printed wrong because it's Lapaya. Sherri Lapaya, the Director of Talent Programs and Product Innovation. And Sherri has also known me for quite a while, and she is a tremendous employee, and she has just always been there for me, and she has just risen into this leadership role, uh, and she deserves it because she just is such such a talented person. So, we're going to start with you, Chris Griffin. How about if you tell the audience about you and your background, and maybe you could even tell them what I'm talking about, you know, when you went around everywhere trying to get them to increase the employment of people with disabilities, and you can tell them what that percentage was. But if you could start by telling everyone your background.

Well, my background is that I'm a woman with a disability, and I'm an attorney who specialized in disability rights throughout my career. I had the great fortune and opportunity to work in the federal government, working as an appointed— nominated and appointed and confirmed as an EEOC Commissioner, as well as the Deputy Director at the Office of Personnel Management, where we were able to really make some significant changes to federal employment of people with disabilities, as well as increase the opportunities for people with disabilities throughout all employment throughout the country. So, it was, it was really a great honor to be able to work on these issues, and frankly, that's You know, I met you many years ago when I was the executive director of the Disability Law Center, which is the protection advocacy agency of Massachusetts. And I've always focused on employment, and I think employment is extremely important. I have always believed that when people with disabilities are in the employment arena in a critical mass, will finally really be included in society. And we've yet to see that happen, but we're working on it, Joyce, right?

We are. And you know what I'm referring to, Chris. Remember when you went—

Yeah, when the president, President Obama signed an executive order to increase employment of people with disabilities throughout the federal Federal Government, and a team of us went around the country talking about the executive order and what the President was expecting and how the federal agencies could comply. Joyce was part of that team, as was a good friend from the CAP program. Dinah.

Dinah Cohen. Dinah Cohen.

Yeah, and, uh, and some people from ODEP and other cast of characters that, that joined us in various, uh, states throughout the country just to spread the word that there was going to be a requirement, and there was a requirement to hire more people with disabilities into the federal government. And you did a lot of work, you know, with federal agencies, Joyce Bender, and Sherry, you You did a lot to make that a reality.

Yeah, that was really a wonderful thing. And you all did succeed in the 100,000 being employed. And when it was first announced at the White House and the executive order was signed, you were right up there with President Obama at the signing.

Yes, I was.

That was quite a day.

Mm-hmm.

That was wonderful. You were there too, Joyce.

I was. I was there also. And do you, uh, Chris, I remember when you first told me that the percentage of people with disabilities being hired, or hired in the federal government, if I'm right, was less than 1%. Is that right?

Yeah. Yeah, that's really what made me get involved when I became a commissioner. I really, I didn't know that the employment of people with disabilities in the federal government was as abysmal as it was, and when I learned that in a briefing, I, that's right then and there is when I decided that I should focus on that issue as a commissioner because how can we as a federal government tell other employers to hire people with disabilities if we weren't doing a good job ourselves. So I thought it was very important that we focus on that and be able to set an example for all employers.

Yeah, I remember Chris would say to people, come on, you can't even do 1%? You can't even do that? I mean, she was a real trailblazer. Let me tell you, with the federal government, she was. She went everywhere. And as I said, that $100,000 was hired, and they increased the percentage after she did all of this. And now guess what? She is handling executive retained search and working in management consulting for Bender Consulting. Just as an example, she found the CEO for Maria Towne at AAPD, Marcy Roth for World Institute on Disabilities, Kathy Martinez at Disability Rights Advocates, Stuart James for— what is their independent living center called? I always get it wrong.

Oh, um, no, Liberty something.

Is it Liberty?

No, no, no, it's, um, uh, Oh, it's, it's Greater Toledo.

Um, yeah, right.

Yeah, that's right. Ability Center. The Ability Center.

Ability Center. Yeah, I don't know why I thought it was Liberty Center. Ability Center. The executive director, uh, the executive director in New York, uh, for the New York, uh, Independent Living Center.

Yep.

Center for Independent Living in New York, Sydney. And then most recently, we just completed the NDRN search for their new executive director, replacing someone who had been there 37 years.

And that is powerful. That is a powerful accomplishment, Chris. You have— think about it, you are changing what an impact you're having in this country for the disability community when you think about it with all those people and their influence and their leadership and what they're doing.

So, well, I'm not doing it alone. I'm doing it with you and with your team of, you know, great folks at Benda, like Sherri Laplaja.

Well, I know you're doing it with us, but you are the lead, so Yes, she works for Bender Consulting with us, but she is the lead on those searches that I just talked about. And if you are in the private sector or the not-for-profit world and you are looking for a new director or CEO, you know who to get in touch with now. And, and she also helps us in our management consulting, which has really taken off after the past 5 years, and that would be Sherry Lapayas. So, Sherry, how about if you tell our listeners about your background?

Sure. So, you know, first, Joyce, I just want to thank you for having me on the show today to talk about this important area of disability inclusion. You know, as As it is with any business venture or innovation from the employment front, having a good plan is really essential to success. So this is a critical area of importance. I've been a part of the Bender team and working in the disability employment arena for 20 years, starting with talent acquisition, supporting hiring programs for public and private sector employers. I know Joyce Bender and Chris were just talking about the executive order, and I was the program manager on vendor side overseeing the rollout of the OPM shared list, ensuring that enough people were put onto the list each month and that they were ready to go with resumes that really talked about their skills and competencies. So, I managed the team responsible for finding and bringing all of that and talent together. I've also worked supporting building training curriculum both for youth with disabilities, precursor to what's now used in the Bender Leadership Academy, and employers, training for employers that is focused on helping them become more inclusive, including developing curriculum for our iDisability product and creating webinars and workshops including a series that we did with FISA Foundation for nonprofits that talked about disability inclusion, how to ensure virtual events and meetings were inclusive of people with disabilities, and an introduction to digital accessibility. And of course, I'm the lead for Bender in conducting our disability inclusion— inclusion, excuse me— assessments for employers that are looking to build or refine their inclusion approach when it comes to hiring people with disabilities. Some of the customers that Bender has supported on this journey includes UTC. We've worked with PNC, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Iron Mountain, and most recently we did a project with Allegheny Health Network.

Yes, and doing a fantastic job. So, Sherri, how about if you explain a little bit more detail about what our assessment and strategic plan is? You know how you assess current states the company's in and make recommendations. Could you, could you go over that?

Sure. So, what our product does is, is really focused on identifying and assessing what an organization's current state is as it pertains to disability inclusion and making recommendations that will follow a continuum of growth from what we call need to lead, right? So, starting out with making sure that companies have everything they need in place whether that being making sure compliance is established or training is provided, with the long goal being to not just creating a company that is compliant with the regulations, but is actually welcoming for people with disabilities and, and a leader in this space. So, we'll sit down with the organization and identify all of the key stakeholders., who need to be a part of this project and work with them through a discovery process where we take a close look at, uh, what the company's doing from a policy perspective and a process perspective and really working to identify, uh, those barriers that might impact disability hiring, engagement, accommodations processes, and establishing equity within their organization.

Joyce Bender: And I think that one of the key things with that is, is not only compliance, but that long goal of being and creating a welcoming environment for people with disabilities, because I always tell people, companies, people are not going to work at your company if you do not have that welcoming environment that, by the way, starts when they try to apply for a job on your website. And if the website is not accessible, that's strike one. Strike two is when the person sends in their resume, but it's screened out through artificial intelligence in the HR system, you know, strike 2, strike 3 when you tell the person they have to take a test in order to be considered. Because we know with various neurodiverse disabilities, a behavioral test is not going to work. You shouldn't be doing it anyway across the board. So, these are things we would be telling you, or Sherry and the team would be telling you if they were working with you. So that, yes, you do have from the beginning a welcome environment. So, Sherry, when might a company want to engage in this process? You know, and what I mean by that is getting started on their disability inclusion journey, looking to move disability inclusion to the next level, refining, streamlining inclusion. When should they start?

Well, really there— and I want to stress this— there really isn't a wrong time to engage in this process. If you're looking to make this a priority and a new goal within the organization, having an assessment like this is great to bring somebody in and let you know what's going on, what's the current state, how are things working. And in most instances, even when there isn't anything formally being done, there's both areas for improvement and pockets of excellence that are happening. You know, there might be a manager somewhere who has an interest in disability inclusion who's doing something as a grassroots effort working with an organization in the community to create programming, and it's just not being shared across the organization. So, when we look at this and we come in and we sit down with the company, we want to identify those things as well so they can become standardized processes. But it's not just for somebody who's just starting out. You know, if you're really looking at, you know, refining and streamlining across the organization, making sure that it's not in one— not being done correctly just in one area, because we'll find that, you know, a lot of times there's a corporate headquarters or there's corporate folks who have been involved with this who maybe belong to Disability:IN or have participated. In some, you know, roundtables with various organizations who get it and understand what needs to happen, but that doesn't mean it's trickled out when you have thousands and thousands of employees in your organization across the board. You'll find that even if you just talk to your family and you know about disability inclusion that, you know, just because you know it, not everybody else understands it and what it is, and that's, that's, you know, a piece of it as well. So you may be doing some things right, but are they really across the board? And then, you know, if you're really looking at, you know, okay, I took the DEI and we scored 100, but we want to stay on top of our game, you need to, you know, continually be aware of, you know, what innovations are coming next, what can you do to maintain that? Score. So there's really not a wrong time to engage in something like this. And as with any assessment, you know, like I said, there's going to be some areas where things are done right and places where you can examine new solutions and new strategies to maximize results.

So there, there could be so many areas of the company they would start in. Is that correct? Like when you go to a company, when we talk to them, Sherri, is it a special group you go to? Is it always HR? Is it always diversity inclusion? How does that work?

So, we have a comprehensive process that we use to, you know, look at different areas of the organization, but we do tailor our assessment to the needs of the particular organization. So, we've done focused assessments, maybe on an accommodations process or the recruitment to onboarding process, or we've done, you know, kind of more full-scope assessments as well where we're looking at all areas of the organization.

Chris, I want to move on to you for a minute. With your background, why do you think a product like this would add value to the company?

Well, I, I, you've already said some of it. I, I think, you know, if, if an employer wants to comply with, um, laws that exist, especially if they do any business with the federal government or want to do business with the federal government, they must ensure that people with disabilities are included in their workforce. So there's the compliance issue, but Even beyond that, if you truly believe in diversity, equity, and inclusion, then you want to have a plan to include everybody. And you have to have a plan. You have to plan, as Sherri was talking about, to include people with disabilities. It isn't something that's just going to happen because you want it to happen or you say you're open to it. You actually have to have a plan and you have to have buy-in from the top.. And that really will demonstrate that you truly believe in the diversity, equity, and inclusion of all people, but it will also demonstrate to your whole company that it's important to, to everyone to include people with disabilities and make sure that you hire them, advance them, and retain them, and that you have the policies and practices in place with which to do that.

Yeah, and Chris, what do you think? It makes a difference when you have a commitment from the top?

Oh yes, absolutely. There has to be a plan and it has to have buy-in from the top. It has to— someone at the top has to communicate to everybody in the organization that it's important to include people with disabilities and that they're going to Expect a plan that works and expect that there is success. That will demonstrate to all employees, but especially the managers, that they're going to be accountable for making sure that the plan is successful. So, it's very important to work with a company like Benda to develop— help you do an assessment, develop a plan, and as I said before, it not only demonstrates compliance, but it really demonstrates true commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Yeah, and I don't think, as I was saying earlier, I don't think a lot of companies realize when they're trying to attract people with disabilities that it does start before they even meet the person. You know, like that example I gave about the website, you know, how— and there are times that people with disabilities have told me that there was some formers that the application that they had to fill out was so time-consuming and so involved, uh, and in their mind, some, you know, discriminatory by the nature of the questions they asked, that they didn't even want to— they didn't want to go further.

Yeah, I would—

exactly what Chris—

I would just Sorry, I was just saying that sends a bad message to employees, potential employees with disabilities, that it sends a message that, you know, we don't really care about you and, you know, you shouldn't apply here.

Sherry, what were you going to say?

I was just going to interject that, you know, it starts even before the position is posted on a website. On whether or not you're creating an environment that's welcoming for people with disabilities. How many times have we seen a job posting come from an employer and it says that they're looking for an accountant and one of the essential functions is that this person must lift 50 pounds?

And—

Yeah.

—how does that compute? You know, why does an accountant need to do constant lifting, and it's, oh, well, you know, they may have to load paper into a printer or carry a report, and it's like, okay, so how often is this person going to actually need to do this? Well, maybe once a year. And it's just, you know, when you're looking at what are we going to put in our job posting, you really need to consider whether that's— function really is essential and a part of the job because when you're a person with a disability and you read those things, you already know that the environment isn't accessible even before you start the application. Right. Very true.

Yeah, that is very true because, Chris, if you would be in that situation in a wheelchair, quadriplegia, whatever, Also, would you not be able to say to someone else to help with that?

Yeah, I mean, once it's determined it's truly not an essential function of the job, then, you know, they can transfer that duty to somebody else. Really, as Sherry is pointing out, having a job description that truly reflects the essential functions that the person has to do on a regular basis is the way to demonstrate to a person with a disability that you're not trying to exclude them. You know, somebody else can load the paper in the copier, or somebody else can carry the report if that's what needs to be done. And frankly, with technology today, none of that stuff needs to be done very much.

Well, to expound on that, Chris, with your background, what do you think are some of the things that companies miss or don't consider when it comes to the inclusion of people with disabilities?

Well, I think they don't develop a plan. They just say, okay, we want to recruit, you know, people with disabilities, and it's the HR department saying it. You don't have leadership from the top saying it. You need a plan with buy-in, as I said, from the top. They say they want to recruit people with disabilities. Well, a way to demonstrate that, if they don't have experience doing it, is to actually work with a company like Bender to actually recruit folks with disabilities, a firm that specializes, like Bender, in recruiting employees with disabilities. That, you know, that will lead to success. And then a lot of companies will hire employees with disabilities, and then they won't support them. They make it difficult to get an accommodation. They make the process difficult. So, all those things demonstrate that you're not really inclusive. And you have to communicate your plan for inclusion of people with disabilities throughout the whole company so that everybody, everybody is aware of it. All employees are aware of it. And have training for other employees that demonstrate your commitment to people with disabilities. And hold your managers accountable. A lot of companies will say they have a plan. And they will, you know, send that out to all their managers, but then if they don't hold them accountable for making that plan successful— and it's not only recruiting and hiring, it's advancing people with disabilities and retaining them in that workforce, and you can only do that if you're truly inclusive.

Right. You know, another example of that would be when we— my employees work from home, but we still have an office with a big conference room and a little kitchenette, and— but it's smaller than— we had a large office before. And when I was looking for office space, oh, it was terrible. I would go to a company, all power— no power-assisted doors, okay? No power-assisted doors. Big corporations. So that if you went to that door and you were a little person or a person with quadriplegia, and in some cases, many, a person with paraplegia, cerebral palsy, I could go on and on, you would not be able to open that door. Some of these doors are so heavy that we went to, I said, now, how is the person, though, going to get to the interview? I mean, what's going to happen? So I went to all these companies and they would either say, no, no, we don't have that, or, well, I mean, one company even said if I would pay for it. I thought, you got to be kidding, when they told me that. That was a large company, very large. Would you pay $11,000 at least for your area? Okay, how committed could this company be to people with disabilities? How committed could they be? Then I would have people say, go in, oh, if we go to the back, if we go to the back of the building, they may be able to get in that way. Needless to say, I didn't go to any of these buildings, but the one I'm at now, the landlords and builders said, "Absolutely, we'll put in power-assisted doors. And absolutely, we'll put them in the restroom. We'll make everything accessible when we build this, including the height in the kitchen area." Now, that's a company that is phenomenal. That is— and right there, that just shows you the difference in the way people think. But as I said, a little thing like not being able to get in the front door because it's now power-assisted says so much. So, Sheri, we're talking about all of this planning. How do you make sure that all these areas are reviewed?

So, we really, you know, as I alluded to earlier, we do a very comprehensive process of reviewing and analyzing, you know, the current state. So we'll look at the experience of the candidate, the employee, and the customer, and general things that influence the culture of the organization. So when we're looking at that candidate experience, we follow the pathway from the time the organization recognizes that they need to fill a job role, because really that's where it starts. That's where inclusion starts is, you know, when you're putting that piece together through the recruitment and the screening and assessment processes, all the way through to, you know, onboarding. You know, I once had an employee that we were talking to, you know, share with me that they weren't sure about accepting an offer because they didn't know if the company would be willing to put their accommodations in place when they received the offer and they had a position. So, they had to consider if there was, you know, enough reward versus risk in accepting this new offer based on, you know, what they were learning about the accommodations process at that organization because they had their accommodations established at their current employer, and if they weren't going to receive that, they knew they wouldn't be effective in their job role. So, we look at that whole entire process, and then we pick up basically from there. You know, what happens when the person onboards, and they, you know, now they're going through training and how are they being engaged and are they being invited to participate in the resource network for that organization, you know, are things being communicated to them, is there a leadership presence that's talking about disability inclusion, how are they, as Chris was saying, looking at developing that employees and retaining them, are they looking at promotional opportunities, are they including them in coaching and mentoring and learning type things, and how are they recognizing those employees, and is that equitable for a person with a disability? Accenture did a follow-up study to their original, you know, study where, you know, people talk about all the time the return on investment and how this study has, you know, shown and demonstrated the value of hiring people with disabilities. They did a follow-up a study and found that while people with disabilities were more aspirational than their peers, they were receiving less opportunity to step up and take on additional work. They felt less that their voice was being heard. So, they had this group of employees that wanted to do more, learn more, and grow with the organization and invest in that organization, but they were passing them over. So, you know, it was very interesting to read that. So, you know, we look at all of these things that factor in, and we look at, you know, the supply chain and whether or not it's inclusive of D/Obies. We look at whether or not their contracts and language for vendors is ensuring that, you know, they're purchasing and using products that are going to be accessible for people with disabilities. You know, how do they look on a philanthropic standpoint. And, you know, so we're really looking at, you know, all areas of the organization when we do this. And, you know, it's like finding a loose thread and you have to follow that loose thread all the way back to the beginning until you find where it meets the seam, right? That's what it's like. You just have to keep asking questions, keep digging until you get to the bottom of it. And sometimes it's just that they don't know how to put a process in place yet. And other times, like I said, there's, you know, something that's great that's there that just needs to be duplicated in other areas of the organization.

That is awesome. Hey, um, we have had a patient caller on the line that I want to bring on. Hi, Chris, how are you?

I'm doing well, Joyce.

Thanks for having me on. Good, good. Chris, do you want to introduce yourself to everyone?

Absolutely. This is, uh, Chris D'Iluzio, a candidate for Congress here in our 17th Congressional District in Western Pennsylvania. A veteran, someone who grew up here, uh, in Western Pennsylvania, and I'm asking folks, uh, for their support here come November.

So I want to tell you why Listen, we ask all parties to be on, but if they're not on, that's their choice. Chris, I, I love him because he is supportive of people with disabilities. You know, 10% of Pennsylvania is made up of people with disabilities, and I had one question for him. As I have, uh, for the other people I spoke to from both sides. Chris, if you win, would you help people with disabilities gain employment? And without any hesitation, what was your answer, Chris?

Oh, absolutely. I mean, look, I don't think this is or should be a partisan issue. To say that everyone in Western Pennsylvania, every American should deserve to live with dignity, with independence and security. And I think our federal government has a lot to do and say about whether and how we support people with disabilities and their families. And the things that I think about with our federal government, and it's not a— I could spend hours talking with you about this, but I think there are some key things the federal government can do and that I will fight to do. And, you know, part of it is making sure we have, you know, a fully funded IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, that we have never really fully funded to support students, right, as they seek education and job training, whether it is academics or the trades, whatever might make sense. Things like strengthening Medicaid and making sure that we are not putting people in a position to lose that important access to healthcare and home and community-based services they need for independence because they might earn a few extra bucks or too many bucks on the job, which is the point, right? Being able to work as best you can for some independence. And then there are things, you know, that aren't just the government that I think some leadership from a member of Congress or a senator or otherwise is needed to encourage our employers, to encourage our friends in the trades and unions to support folks with disabilities, to make sure, Joyce, you're involved in a lot of this work and a real leader here to make sure that private sector is there and ready and understands how to really confront and deal with accessibility and make workplaces accessible, to make sure that people are educated and know about the opportunities. And so I think there's some soft leadership I hope to exercise as a member of Congress here as well.

And I will say, Chris, I don't— the other Chris, Chris Griffin. I don't know, Chris, if you heard me talk about this, but Chris Griffin, who works with me, was an Obama appointee. Before that, when she was with EEOC as a commissioner, during that time, President Bush was in administration. But she worked a lot during the Obama administration. I'm telling you that, Chris Griffin, because this Chris is friends with someone that you know well, Senator Casey.

Oh, that's great. Good. Well, you have a great name, and I'm a veteran also, so I can identify with you on that. And I'm really grateful that you're you're choosing to run, because I know it's a tough decision to run for political office today, and that you'll support people with disabilities.

That's just great. Well, thank you. And, and certainly Senator Casey has been a, a fierce and strong advocate and ally here, and someone who I'm, I'm certain I'll be working with in Washington here come this next year if I'm lucky enough to serve on exactly these issues where we need all the help we can get here in Western Pennsylvania.

Well, we want that to happen. Chris, uh, do you want to tell them your full name again and where you are running on Election Day?

Where will that be? Absolutely. I'm Chris D'Alusio. I'm running for the U.S. Congress here in Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District. That's all of Beaver County, a big chunk of Allegheny County surrounding Pittsburgh, and nearly every direction. But it's the best congressional district in the country, in the heart here, I think, of Western Pennsylvania.

Well, that's the truth because I went to Geneva College, so we know that Beaver area is certainly a great area. Uh, Chris Griffin, it is in Beaver Falls, Geneva College. That's why I said that. But Chris, you are truly a wonderful person. I'm very supportive, and as everyone listening knows, This show is on demand. You can go to Spotify, Apple, voiceamerica.com, benderconsult.com. But if you go and put this in on Spotify, Disability Matters with Joyce Bender, it will come up. Or if you just want to go to voiceamerica.com, it will come up. And what I mean by that is you can Tell any of your friends that were not on today, hey, you've got to listen to this podcast and share it with other people and they can hear it because it is listed on all of those sites. So, Chris, we wish you the best. Thank you for being on and we'll keep checking on you in October.

Thank you, Joyce. Thanks so much for having me on. It was a real treat.

All right, have a great day, Chris. What we need is more people that want to fight the fight for people with disabilities to get hired. Isn't that the truth? Oh my goodness. Chris, what do you think are some of the key factors now that we've been talking about all this, or trends that are happening nationally that you believe will increase companies to want to be more inclusive of people with disabilities?

Well, I think, I think some of the most important things have come out of the pandemic itself that, you know, are leading to employees with disabilities influencing the future of the workplace. Those people with long-term COVID, most likely people with disabilities, and employers must recognize their need to be accommodated and to retain them and accommodate them and make sure that they're able to keep working as they had been before they got COVID. And as we all adjust to this increasingly remote world of work, the pandemic has certainly highlighted barriers to technology that people with disabilities encounter every day. Under laws like Section 508, firms can really protect themselves by complying with web content accessibility guidelines 2.0 Level AA and subsequent updates. I know that working with Benda, companies will be able to do that, to update their web content and make sure that it's fully accessible. Not just to recruit employees with disabilities but to demonstrate to their customers that they believe in accessibility for everybody. Hybrid and remote working— this is becoming the new normal, which was not possible prior to that because the people with disabilities needed that as an accommodation, and it was one that employers were very reluctant to provide. And now we all know that everybody can work from home. That's been proven. They can work from home, they can be productive, and that includes people with disabilities. And I think more importantly, there's now an emphasis on mental health of employees. And I know this is important to Benda for a variety of reasons, but especially through the Benda Leadership Academy, the program dedicated to Mary Braca on mental health, mental health issues that relate to younger people with disabilities. But they're the workforce of the future. And the fact that employers are starting to pay attention to mental health issues as a result of really of the pandemic and what all employees found was very stressful. There's more of an emphasis, and I think people with disabilities will play a bigger role in helping employers figure out how to best accommodate and, and be inclusive of all people, whether they have a mental health disability or a physical disability. It doesn't matter. So I think those are the things that come out of COVID and Those are all the types of things that I know Benda can help work with a company to, to make sure that they're inclusive of employees with disabilities.

And surely you tell us frequently, Chris, you and I talk about this, how there is an untapped labor pool that people are missing.

Yeah, there is. There's an untapped labor pool, and we're experiencing, you know, high, high numbers of employment now, which is great for the country, but employers can't find workers. Well, guess what? There's a whole pool of workers out there. There are people with disabilities that can work. With the technology that we have today, there's no reason why anyone with a disability disability can't be doing a job of some sort. So, I think, you know, we've learned a lot as a result of this pandemic. And one of the major outcomes is that people with disabilities are here to stay as part of the workforce.

That's for sure. Thank you, Chris, and thank you for being with us. Sherri, I know we only have a couple minutes until the end of the show, but this, uh, for sure we want to tell everyone, if someone does want to engage in a disability inclusion assessment with us, how would they get started?

Uh, so there are a number of ways they can engage us in starting this conversation. They can visit our web visit our website at benderconsult.com and fill out the Contact Us form to connect with our organization, or they can reach out via email to our Chief of Staff, Leanne Thomas, at lthomas@benderconsult.com.

Okay, and that is lthomas@benderconsult.com. If you're interested, make sure you reach out to us. Or as Sherri said, go to the website. Well, I will tell you, it's been a pleasure to have both of you on. And listen, everyone, you won't be disability-friendly until you have the whole scope. So make sure you get in touch with us. And with that, we end every show with a quote, and today That quote is, "Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice," said Jim Collins. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. In the words of Mary Brooker, choose Joy.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.