Duquesne Light Company Addresses COVID-19 and the Needs of Employees with Disabilities

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 as we continue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. So On that note, special shout out to Yoshiko Dart, whose late husband, Justin Dart Jr., was a general. The two of them worked to— general in a getting this signed. That's what we called him. We called him the general. He and his wife Yoshiko went around the country two times on their own dollar to meet with groups of people with disabilities with the effort to get everyone behind the mission to get the ADA signed and continued to be a leader that we also looked up to. As a matter of fact, if you see the photo of the signing of the ADA, that very famous photo with President Bush and Evan Fraser, you would also see sitting up there with him Justin Dart Jr. So we also have a special shout out— oh, I'm so excited about this— to two people from the State Department that are just wonderful, great friends of mine. And Gang Young is in Seoul with the embassy, but I gotta tell you, Richard Roberts, oh my goodness, he is in Okinawa Again, he's with the U.S. State Department at their consulate. Guess what? We're going to have a show from South Korea. So excited about this. And we'll be advertising it everywhere. So, so many good things. You know, we have 17 countries with listeners. And by the way, the largest is China. And, you know, I'm always thinking of all of you in every country about COVID And I'm hoping you're all safe. And I was just thinking the other day, look at what these people are doing. I don't care if there's one of you. You are helping spread the word. You need to be proud of yourself as a disability rights leader, and you need to spread this podcast to others. So thank you so much, and thank you, Highmark, for being the lead sponsor for 4 years, and for our newer sponsor Peoples, formerly Peoples Natural Gas, newest, Wells Fargo, and the Employment Options. I mean, so many great people in this world all working together to try to help people with disabilities around the world gain quality of life. So let me tell you about our guest today. I love her. As a matter of fact, on LinkedIn or Twitter or somewhere, uh, when we advertised Sarah would be on, I said and I love her, and I do love her. She is just an awesome person, and I've known her for many, many years. She has always been a supporter and always been an advocate of people with disabilities. You know, she is the very first, first chief diversity officer at Duquesne Light Company, And I want to tell you, she was only in that role— oh my goodness, it seemed like one, one day, but she was only in this role a short time period— and said, Joyce, come here, I want you to speak about hiring people with disabilities. So this is what I mean about her. She is the real deal. So Sarah, welcome to the show.

Joyce, thank you for that wonderful introduction. And as you know, you are my role model. So if I am truly engaged around the subject of people with disabilities or just in general diversity, it's because you were a role model and you helped me get there. I thank you for that.

Well, that is an honor to hear you say that. But Sarah, you're a rock star on your own. So let's begin by you telling our listeners about your role at Duquesne Light. And by the way, what is it like— what is it like to be the very first Chief Diversity Officer, first at Duquesne Light?

So Joyce, to be the first Chief Diversity Officer at Duquesne Light, it is totally awesome. So I'm going to use that term. I am excited about the journey that we're on. I'm excited about the leadership and their mission, their vision, you know, the journey that they're pointing us towards. And I think that we are going to be doing really good things in the future. We've already started. As a Chief Diversity Officer, one of the things I kind of dug into right away was developing that strategy around diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging. The strategies that support employee engagement, mutual respect in the workplace, which then directly align with Duquesne Light's core values and business strategy. It's truly been a pleasure to be part of the DLC team.

Well, you know, that is something. I mean, that really is something to take that, you know, just to be that person, to be given that opportunity. So if anyone from Duquesne Light is listening, you're so lucky you got her. I'm going to tell you why. I called her only a few days after she had accepted this officer for a very similar position, and she said, "Oh, Joyce, that's so nice of you, but I already accepted a position with Duquesne Light." So Duquesne Light, you're lucky because you almost didn't have Sarah, and Sarah is so well known that, you know, you're really blessed to have her working for you. So Sarah, they'll never like me now because I told them I was gonna try to steal you. So if you always make me feel so good, well, not hard to do that when how wonderful you are. So Sarah, a lot of people, you know, they make a decision to go into different fields, but no, not a not only did you decide to go into HR, but you went into diversity and inclusion. So, why— how and why did you make that journey? Like, how did this all start and why did you move into diversity and inclusion?

Joyce, thank you for that question. That's a great question. Most of my career, actually, and not too many people know this, I spent on the operations side of the business. I ran call centers for many years, and then I slowly migrated to human resources. And then, as part of a human resource plan, I got an opportunity to kind of dig into this diversity space, and I thought, wow, this is, this is something that I've been living all of my life, right? Because I believe in purpose and destiny, and I believe this is my purpose and part of my destiny, right? So, you know, after I was, you know, moved into diversity, equity, and inclusion, I noticed how it touched every part of the business. Because after all, this includes people, and especially people with disabilities, right? So, when we're touching different communities, that becomes a way of doing business. It becomes inclusive. It becomes engaging, it results in great customer service, it results in innovation. And that's when I realized that I really wanted to be in the inclusion space. It became my focal point. For me, it's not just a job. It's a way of life.

Well, when you were in— but by the way, that is so great that you came out— no surprise that you came out of operations first, because that is what gave you the business acumen to understand, you know, what it takes to get a good employee, how to get out the talent, just all parts of it when you come out of operations. You know, that is really, to me, an added bonus. But when you were in that call center, I mean, what happened that got you this opportunity to be in HR?

So, I had been in a call center, and I had built call centers before. I had managed call centers. I did what you do, quality assurance. And what I noticed is our customer base was very diverse and had different needs, both through language, right, and also through accessibility. And so, that's the thing that spurred it on, that we really needed to be focused on providing the best possible service. And the way to do that was through meeting individual needs of our customers. And because they were diverse, we needed to be flexible. And so that kind of powered me into how do we think about this diversity piece when it comes to serving our customers? How do we think about inclusion when it comes to our employees? Because ultimately, diversity inclusion is a people strategy for business. Right? And when you have a great people strategy, then you have a great business strategy, which then spurs innovation and insight, and then really good, strong business outcomes because people are engaged, they listen, and they want to just make things better, right? They want to do the best possible job. So that all wrapped up, I thought about, hmm, maybe I could take this to the next level. So then when I was involved in the, in the call center, I got opportunity to move into HR. As I moved into HR, there were more demands around kind of getting in a diverse group of people for job changes and opportunities. And then I thought we could do more with this, right? And so from that point, I moved into more of an inclusion, equity, and diversity role. And then I was able to kind of think about how to connect All of these points to the business for strong business outcomes, but most importantly, employee success.

And why I'm asking you that, Sarah, for any young people listening, that just shows that if you have initiative and if you do a great job in one area, you can transition to another area in corporate America. Because a lot of times people will say to me, I really want to be I want to be here in this other area. And I'll tell them, well, do a good job where you are right now and start networking with people in that other area. You know, but look what you did. You moved from running a call center to moving into HR to being a chief diversity officer. I mean, the opportunities are there. I always say the number one thing is to do a great job where you are right now. Do you agree with that, Sarah?

Joyce, I absolutely agree with that. And I would also say that sometimes we let ourselves get in the way of our success, right? So, for any person with a disability, I happen to be a person with a disability, and that was part of my success is acknowledging, right, helping people understand, bringing awareness and knowledge that to the group to say, you know, a person with a disability can be as successful or more successful than anybody else. Because as a person with a disability, I have a high rate of caring. I always want to get the job done. I'm totally dedicated to the role, right? And to your point, Joyce Bender, earlier, I learned about sponsorship and mentoring and networking, and also, candidly, just listening, right, and understanding where we might be able to go and what we could do, right? And so it worked really, really well for me. So to all of your points, yes, yes, and yes.

Yeah, I just so agree with that. And, you know, we've been talking about Duquesne Light, you know, being the first chief diversity officer there. But for our listeners around the world, could you tell them a little bit about Duquesne Light so they will know what we're talking about.

Absolutely. So Duquesne Light has been powering the community for more than 140 years, so that's exciting to me. And Duquesne Light is committed to keeping the lights on. It powers the moments of customers' lives as a next-generation energy company, and we have 1,600 employees which are dedicated to delivering reliable and and safe electricity to more than 500,000 customers in the southwestern Pennsylvania area.

Wow. And you know what? I know. Yeah, that's amazing. You mentioned something to me once that I just thought of it actually, that a lot of students with disabilities, maybe they have a learning disability or like me, epilepsy or diabetes, whatever it is, They think if they can't go to college, there aren't any opportunities for them. But I know that isn't true. And one example is what you told me, that you often look for people— what is the correct name? Linemen? I don't know the correct name.

Yes, line workers. Yes, absolutely. And we even have what you call an EBT program. Especially for students coming out of high school that are looking for life-changing jobs. Is there some physical work? Absolutely. But there is a program to kind of help each individual who's interested in this program kind of excel and get through it. And the pay and the benefits are life-changing. BLC offers, you know, an array of benefits, and the pay for this job can change someone's life. And so, yes, this program is available, and you can go to Duquesne Light, the website, and actually just search on EDP program, and there's a whole webpage that talks about how someone can get involved.

Now, that EDP program, are you an employee of Duquesne Light to go through that? Is that a separate place you go for training? What is that?

So, it's a partnership with CCAC, or the community college in Pittsburgh, and it's actually a program where you're actually learning. There's like a curriculum that's involved, and you go through the program, and it teaches you all of the basics for this particular role, for a line worker role. So, there's some math involved. There's some physical kinds of things that you need to do. There's some basic understanding. And most importantly, they talk about safety, because it is electricity that we're dealing with, right? And so, you have to be very mindful of safety. So, if you were to engage in a program through CCAC, you go through a whole school. Once you go through the school, there's some things that you need to do in order to kind of get through the program, because a lot of people, a number of the people have to climb a pole right? Because this is what we're dealing with. We're dealing with electricity. And then you— there is a test that has to be taken, and then from there there's a real opportunity to be hired. And we've actually partnered with different schools in the Pittsburgh area, and we've had some major successes. So when I talk about this, and I want to be real specific, we're talking about everyone can be engaged, involved in this process. And so, if you are interested, check out EDT program, you know, under Duquesne Light, and there will be opportunity there. So the program runs typically— I think it started in September, and I think it runs through next year, and then the program will start again. And so it's a real opportunity for life-changing jobs.

Yeah, this is what I mean. A lot of times And I'll tell this to my students. Some of them think if they don't have a 4-year degree, you know, that that's it, they're not going to have an opportunity. And I tell them, you know what, listen to me, you could be a plumber and be making more money than you could ever envision. Same thing with this job. So there are opportunities, you know, trades opportunities, you know, working for companies, maybe air conditioning, whatever it is. But there are other opportunities for people, and like in this position and/or plumbing, to have a very good income. So I— that's why it's so encouraging also to hear about this. That's great, that's wonderful. And what do you do? Do you recruit people for this, or What do they do?

Do they just— Actually, there's typically— and we went a little bit— we tried to advertise a little bit differently. So, we put it on a bus in terms of how you can apply. But yes, there's typically a call for EBT applicants, and then it's posted, you know, kind of on the website. And then you just put your information in and then Someone calls you to do a quick interview, and then from there, because it not only involves human resources, but it involves the operations side of, of Duquesne Lake. So, it's a collaborative effort to get really strong candidates in. So, yes, you do have to apply, and I think the current program has started, and I think we'll probably be looking for new candidates soon, but feel free to go again to the Duquesne Lake website. For the EBT program. Kind of think about what that means and if this is a good opportunity for you. And then it'll be posted probably in the new year and we'll be looking for new applicants. And again, Joyce, to your point, here is an opportunity that pays life-changing wages, great benefits, and then you just pile on top of that with a great team that is safety-focused.

Wonderful. That's a wonderful opportunity. So, you know, before we go on, I have to ask you this question. I'm thinking there must have been new leadership or some change. I don't know what it was, but what caused Duquesne Light to finally hire a Chief Diversity Officer?

So it was in support of the customer base because our goal is to continue to recruit and be reflective of our communities, but it was also we're realizing that the landscape, right, is changing in terms of the workforce. And we want to continue to be innovative, and we want to be, you know, on top of the business. And so, in order to do that, they created this position to kind of help with and partner with the business to create effective strategies to attract, retain, develop and promote a diverse workforce. But it goes even further than that because right now, Dukie and Lane is also working— there's a new person, our Chief Procurement Officer, that's working on the procurement side for supplier diversity. So, again, kind of helping and supporting the Pittsburgh community in growth and development. And lastly, I would say that it is the leadership team, to your point. We have a great leadership team at DOC who is committed to both growing inclusion, diversity, and equity throughout the organization, but it's also, which, you know, we can even talk about at some point, dedicated to the well-being of the DOC team members. And I saw that firsthand during the pandemic.

Yes, Ashley, I was just going to ask you, how did you handle that? How did you handle the pandemic at Duquesne Light?

So, Duquesne Light, I felt, was like a leader in this space. When I was talking to other organizations, there wasn't necessarily a plan, but there was a plan. Because it's a utility, we have to be mindful because we are responsible for maintaining the grid. So, as I said earlier, powering, keeping the lights on, you know, powering the lights that we need, that is critically important. And so, one of the things that Duquesne Light did was they acted fast in terms of what do we need to do to protect our employees. That was top of mind. The— our employees, we protect our employees, we protect our community, and how do we do that safely and effectively? So, we were immediately— those that were in an office, we were immediately deployed. And then we— there were precautions and procedures put in place to protect our field team. Our field team is so incredible in the things that they do. It was critically important to ensure their safety. The other thing that was put in place was there was what we called like a special leave. Even before any of this became, you know, the common rule for organizations, Duquesne Light had set up a minimum of like 2 weeks where if an employee was affected by COVID, they could contact the ELC and say, "Hey." This was separate and above any time that they had gathered as time off. So, that was the other piece. We immediately moved to those that are working from home, a platform that was easier for people to collaborate and still get the work done. The other piece that I'd like to say too is just to keep the customers engage and involve and give them all the information that they would need, our customer service base was sent to work remotely to protect them so that we can continue to support our customer. And then the other thing that, you know, Duke Energy did was interesting because knowing that the employee workforce was a little fatigued and, you know, a little bit overwhelmed by the pandemic and of course, you know, the some of the civil unrest, our leadership said, "Hey, we are going to give you a day. We are going to give you a day that does not count against your vacation, that does not count against your time off. We are just going to give you a day to breathe." Right? So, and then I think the other thing that was key to all of this was communication, communication, communication. I can tell you every single day that I work at Duke-Hume, like, where we are, in terms of the pandemic because we— there's a constant communication from our leadership team, from our CEO. And so it's been— although the pandemic itself is not the best situation, we've done the best that we possibly can with the situation that we're in.

Yeah. And that— oh, I mean, this has just been, you know, such an unbelieve— who would ever Every time I think, every soft nose stop and think, I think, wow, we will be in history books the way that people when they went through the Spanish flu, standing there, policemen wearing masks, will be in the history books because, you know, this was in 100 years. I mean, this is unbelievable. And this is a time that companies have to show leadership the way you just described Duquesne Light. For their employees because people are also nervous and afraid, and just having that support for employees is tremendous. Well, it is on the half hour, and as you all know, on the half hour, uh, we have our news break called Advocacy Matters with our tremendous host, Perry Jude Radesic, the CEO of Disability Rights PA, which I am so honored to be on that board. Uh, but Perry is— Perry Jude is known nationally for the work she's done in disability rights. And for the past 2 years, she has been on, unless there's some reason she can't be on, every show. So with that, hey Perry Jude, how are you today?

Hey Joyce, uh, I'm fine, thank you. And Really, I'm always a listener of your show and I'm going to talk about the census here in a minute, but there's so much pressure on the disability community and I just want to echo what's been said and not just for workers, but everyone out in the community has so much pressure on them and it's tremendous. We're all feeling it, even in the legal advocacy community. There's so much going on, and I just want to echo those comments.

So, yeah.

Thank you.

So, I want to talk about the census today, and I know we've talked about this on your show previously, but we're coming down to the wire, and that's why we want to talk about it on Advocacy Matters today. Because we have this important information about the nationwide count of the 2020 Census. And there is something everyone can do. And it really is down now to your individual participation in the 2020 Census. And it really does matter. And I know we've said before that how many billions of dollars, billions of federal dollars are at stake. And it gets divided up by the federal government through an allocation. And these allocations that trickle down into our communities are dependent on how many people are counted in our communities. And we want to stress again the impact. On people with disabilities, really down to people with disabilities, it impacts our public transportation, it impacts special education, it impacts Section 8 housing support, it impacts medical assistance, SNAP, vocational rehabilitation state grants, block grants for community mental health services, and so and so much more. Now the US Census Bureau will conclude data collection on September 30th. This is one month earlier than originally planned. So today is August 25th. We're about one month away from the Census Bureau ending the count. So if you want to know where the states are, like where are we with the count, guess what? Advocacy Matters has a link to the latest information. So on August 23rd, the US Census Bureau released data on the percentage of housing units who self-responded. So like if you got something in the mail and you reported, and then people knocked on people's doors and they reported, and the Census Bureau then totaled all of that, we have that PDF report on disabilityrightspa.org. So right now, if you go to disabilityrightspa.org, you can find out the percentage of people that have been counted in your area. Your state. I can tell you Pennsylvania is about 80%. So there's 20%, at least 20% of the people in our state that have not been counted yet. So check out the report and find out how your state's doing. We've got to do a better job. So if you have not completed the 2020 Census that was mailed to you, If you haven't received that mailing and if you have not received a knock on your door by a census taker, you can still be counted. The Census Bureau has an online questionnaire. It takes 10 minutes. And guess what? We have that link. If you go to disabilityrightspa.org, you'll find the link to my2020census.gov. And you can be counted. It matters. Advocacy matters. Be counted as if your life depended on it, because it does.

If I may ask you a question, just so you can repeat it to our listeners, Perijude, you're talking about, of course, everyone participating in the census, but could you explain again briefly how, if this is not done properly, how this would impact people with disabilities.

Oh, absolutely and positively directly. The U.S. government, through federal statute, the laws that are passed, distributes money through the appropriation, through their authorization, through something called an allocation. It's a formula. These are formula programs, formula grants, like mental health, the block grants. And there's a formula in which population is a big part of it. And you can think of, you could say, well, that kind of makes sense, right? Because if California is a much bigger state, with larger mental health needs, then they should get a larger share of the tax dollars collected by the Treasury. And if Pennsylvania is maybe the 5th largest state, then we should get the 5th largest share. But if Pennsylvania doesn't show up and get counted, we're not gonna get the 5th largest share. And if California doesn't show up and get counted, they're not gonna get the largest share. So it's important that people show up, they get counted. So this really does come down to the individual to answer the questions: how many people are in your home, who you are. Get counted, because if you don't, people with disabilities will not get our fair share of funding for voting rehab, for medical assistance, for special education, for public transportation, and for mental health services. We just won't. And that's how it— that's how it happens.

Oh, that is so terrible. Hey everyone, you heard what Perry Judas saying. Please go to pennsylvaniadisabilityrights.org. What is the website exactly, Perijude?

Sure, it's disabilityrightspa.org.

Disabilityrightspa.org. You've got to go there, read that Advocacy Matters, and it will give you all the information you need. Uh, Perijude, thank you so much, and we'll look forward to seeing you again.

Hey, thanks, Joyce.

You're welcome. Wow, that's serious, you know that, Sarah?

It sure is, and what good advice.

Oh yes, she always is good and she always keeps on it. She's just really great. So Sarah, how is disability going to fit into your diversity plans?

Oh, it is the diversity plan. Disability is a huge part of the journey that we're on when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. And one of the things that we're currently working on is a foundational strategy for accessibility. In fact, we already have had conversations with your team about some possible next steps as we move into the new year. Year. So, we're looking at how we can ensure accessibility for everyone throughout the organization. Not only that, but we're building knowledge around people with disabilities in the workforce. We're working to educate, especially when, you know, you and your team had come to Duquesne Light to kind of start the conversation. You started a lot of excitement around the possibilities of what we can do in order to have a very inclusive workplace. The other thing that we're doing is we are really focusing on the recruitment of people with disabilities. We're tapping into those communities and those conversations. We're looking at what we can even do better, you know, from a workforce perspective and from a recruitment perspective. And so, I think one of the biggest things that we're doing when it comes to ensuring that people with disabilities are included in this diversity plan is our leadership is committed to this. And I've always been grateful for the sponsorship of leadership, but here at Duquesne Light, it's more than words. There's a lot of action behind everything that we're doing. So that is where we are ensuring that we are part of the next step of employing people with disabilities at Duquesne Life.

Yeah, that is awesome. Awesome. Well, Sarah, you mentioned earlier about the unrest, the political unrest and the civil unrest, and of course a lot of that is directly connected to Black Lives Matter and the horrendous murder of George Floyd, and now things just keep happening. I don't know how that is possible, but systemic racism is how it's possible. But I wanted to ask you, Sarah, how has this impacted you, you know, seeing this, and how has it impacted Duquesne Light?

Well, for me, it is a conversation. It is education. It is knowledge. It is helping people understand the actual definition of systemic racism. And one of the really good things about Duquesne Light is we have been having those candid conversations. So we are talking about institutional, systemic racism. We are talking about equity. And as a result of our leadership team being committed and engaged, we have developed a platform. And the name of that platform is called Driving Social and Cultural Change. It's a platform or a forum for open, honest, and candid communication. And we, the very first session, we kicked off with our executive leadership team, right? We kicked it off with having those candid conversations about race. About equity, right, and some of the things that we might be doing in the future to support the Black African American community. And we continue to be committed not only to that conversation, but to take, you know, action in that particular area. So, it has been very impactful. But, again, like I said earlier, one of the things that I continue to be impressed with at Duquesne Late is not just words, right? There is very— there is a process and there is action that is planned to support some of our external African Black-owned businesses in the community. Although we know we have— we're on a journey and we're growing, we are definitely committed to making things better and supporting the Pittsburgh the Pittsburgh community in the next steps of this pandemic. And that's what we're talking about. We've talked often about that there are two pandemics, maybe three. One is, of course, COVID-19. The other one is the social unrest. The other one is the impact that these two have had on the economy. So Duquesne Light wants to be engaged and involved in supporting the community and making progress.

And you know, COVID is disproportionately impacting the Black community. And when I had, uh, Sherelle Barber on my show, she said, yeah, people don't realize how many ways this is. It isn't because, oh, these people, you know, there's something wrong with them, they're not as good enough health, it's because a) systemic racism causes— let's start here. Who were the people on the front lines often with the lower paying jobs? Often the Black community. And next we have poverty. What does poverty mean? That means many people living in the same place. I mean, there, uh, we have people that went to the doctor for testing that were turned away, uh, and that ended up dying. I mean, there are so many things here, and it is also impacting the disability community because of this healthcare disparity and who to give the ventilator to. I mean, it's terrible, uh, how this has impacted these groups. But when someone says to me, when they say, Joyce, really? Do you really think there is racism? I say, where have you been? And I don't say the next thing I'm thinking, which is, you must be racist. Because you know what William Wilbur— I mean, there's no way you could see what happened, for example, to George Floyd, let alone this man that was just shot in the back 11 times in Wisconsin, who they now— he was fighting for his life. Now we find out he's paralyzed, you know, from the shooting. But whenever I hear that people seeing it but then, you know, ignoring it— William Wilberforce, who of course was the first the abolitionist in England, said, "You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know." And that is how it is right now. You can't see this and then say, "Oh, I didn't know it was that bad," or, you know, "Do you really think it's like that? Do you really think it's that?" It is that bad. It is that bad. And Sarah and I, with our friendship, have talked over the years about this, and she knows it firsthand because when she was growing up, she saw the Klan. Isn't that correct, Sarah?

Yeah, it is. So my life has been very interesting, to say the least. Um, uh, and, and so to your points earlier in terms of, um You know, how it impacts the Black community, 37 to 40% of the people who die from COVID are African American. It's also impacting the Latinx community and has a huge impact on the Native American community and is significantly impacting, to your point, the disability community. And all of the things that you talked about are impacting those communities and their cultures in terms of frontline jobs. Disparities in healthcare and some economic kinds of issues that are being raised around this whole COVID piece. So, back to your point in terms of, yes, because I am a woman of color, I have consistently been engaged in acts of ignorance. That's what I call them. And it makes it uncomfortable, but it also makes you a stronger person. How do people not know about this? Because maybe they have not been engaged in acts of ignorance, right? Or people just do not necessarily know. And I am not defending. I am just saying that sometimes we, people say things without really thinking about it. And so, it is not a really good place to be. And, yes, I did grow up and be around an area that supported, you know, not real positive views around the Black African American community. But I would say that because I experienced that, that that is one of the other reasons why this is so important. Because all people deserve to be respected and heard in their lifetime. Because we all make up this amazing group of people called humans. And so I just feel like respect is critical when it comes to interacting with humans. So, and I'll leave it at that.

Oh, I so agree with you, Sarah. I do. I so agree with you. It's, you know, I'm going to tell you something, Sarah. When I saw the horrific murder of George Floyd, if that car had been an older car and if those men had on white cloaks, I'm telling you, it remembered— reminded me of the things in history where Black people were killed, you know, by white supremacists. And so, but together, together we can make a difference because there are good people that want to do the right thing. And so, you know, I am of the belief that as long as we all work together, we can make the change that you're talking about. I really do believe that. But to do that, we all have to work together. And I'm happy to hear, you know, the emphasis on diversity at Duquesne Light. I mean, that is— that's where it starts. That's where the rubber meets the road— employment. So, um, Sarah, you know, when you were talking about diversity, you know I've been in employment in— since the '80s. And you know, because I started in executive search, of course, Bender Consulting, this is our 25th anniversary this year, 25 years. But you know, there was no diversity and inclusion. And then when there finally was diversity and inclusion, disability was never part of it. I mean, it was not. It was like, there's diversity and inclusion, and then off over here somewhere is disability. And it has only been in the past decade that things have changed. But I wanted to ask you, why do you think that is, Sarah? Why do you think disability was not part of diversity inclusion?

So I think it stems from a lack of knowledge, and Joyce Bender and I have talked about the fear factor. People don't necessarily know or understand the community, and so they have what you would call unconscious bias, right? So, they have a thought that maybe a person with a disability can't be as productive as a person without a disability. And maybe they think that, you know, there will be issues with attendance with a person with a disability. And I think that it's about informing people about the community and that the genuine kind of dedication and commitment that comes out of the community. In other words, we need to dispel the myth, right? We need to get rid of all of that. And I don't know that organizations actually realized how you could tap into the disability community for great talent for good jobs, right? I think that that wasn't something that may have been considered in the beginning. I think, though, now people are starting to realize the gems and the jewels that are located in the disability community and that people with disabilities are the most dependable people in the workforce. Of course. And you and I both know, we know people with disabilities who, you know, in a snowstorm got to work when other people didn't. We know people who, you know, went above and beyond as a person with a disability to get the job done when someone else may have thought, "Eh, I don't really have to do that." So, I think that that has a lot to do with it. And I also think putting programs in place to answer questions about how you can hire people with disabilities and onboard people with disabilities is also another progressive step in the right direction.

Well, you know, I agree with, I agree with what you're saying because there is this fear, there is this bias you are referring to. There is— I tell you what it is, I thought we had made this move, but I still think we have a way to go to make this move, and that is to stop looking at it as a medical model. You know, as long as you look at the disability community as a medical model, we're not going to get anywhere. You know, we aren't a medical model. We are a group of people with talent who want to work, and that's one of the problems. What you said, you know, thinking, oh, they won't be here, and oh, they won't be able to do the job, or oh, they won't be able to participate as much. And here's what I have to say about all of that. Anytime someone invites me to their company to talk about Joyce, we want to start hiring people with disabilities, what should we do? I have to give them the big news. They guess what? You already have people with disabilities working here. Yeah, they have depression, diabetes, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, cancer. I mean, I could go on and on. They are already here. And guess what else? They're highly productive. You just don't know who they are. Why? Because they're afraid they'll be treated differently. You know, someone there, oh, they're productive, doing such a great job, and then they have to say, "Well, you know, I have epilepsy." And then all of a sudden it's, "Oh, well, are you able to do this or are you able to do that?" And just the feeling of being looked upon differently. But what gets me is they're already working for you. People with disabilities are already working for you and they are some of your top employees because You don't know they have a disability. And wouldn't you agree with that, Sarah?

Absolutely. And that, and that is the education and the knowledge and awareness part that's critical, right? Dispelling the myths, because the workforce is filled with people with disabilities. It's just that some people aren't aware, right? And to your point, They are the top performers. I would suggest that there are two people on your show today that are committed, engaged, and work for the betterment of not only the business, but the people in the disability community. So, I think you, Joyce, are a shining example of if you want to get it done, you can get it done.

Yeah, that is so true. So true. Well, Sarah, what message would you like to leave with our listeners today?

So, there's something that I've been working on at Duke Endlight, and it's called "Lend Me Your EIR," E-I-R, engagement, inclusion, and respect. And I use this formula to support employee engagement, employee awareness, employee equity, employee success, and employee safety, right? But it can also support business success. And so one of the things that I would ask everyone to do is to lend me your ear, or to lend others your ear, because when you do that, you open up the doors to engagement of people, the inclusion of people. You actually allow people their voice, and when you allow them your voice, you respect them, and then it equals success. So, I would encourage everyone to lend me your ear or lend others your ear in order to move forward.

Wow, what great advice. Well, Sarah, first of all, thank you so much for being with us today. I always love hearing you and what you're doing. You are just such a beacon of light. So thank you so much for being with us.

Joyce, thank you so much for having me. And again, you are my role model. I will continually look to you for guidance and support. And I thank you for everything that you do because you make a difference.

Well, thank you. And you know what? Joyce Bender, we end every show, every show with a quote, and oh, this one is so appropriate, and it is from the book We Are Called to Be a Movement by Reverend Dr. William Barber, and the quote is, "We believe that equal protection under the law is non-negotiable." This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at VoiceAmerica.com. We will talk to you next week with, yes, Judy Heumann. Talk to you then.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11:00 AM 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.