Tech Disability Project: Reshaping the Narrative around Working with a Disability
In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, I am thrilled to introduce the Tech Disability Project publication. Each day during the month of October, we’ll be publishing content here on Medium authored by folks who work in tech and experience illness, injury or disability — whether visible or invisible, temporary or chronic.
Nearly 1 in 4 adults in the United States lives with a disability. We don’t yet have data for tech employees with disabilities, but research shows that only 21% of office workers with disabilities choose to disclose at work. This matters because without disclosing a disability, employees can’t access reasonable accommodations such as modified hours, assistive software, work from home flexibility, or specific desk equipment.
Each day during the month of October, we’ll be publishing content authored by folks who work in tech and experience illness, injury or disability — whether visible or invisible, temporary or chronic.
Until we introduce a shared language and understanding of disability within the tech industry, we won’t be able to build companies that are truly inclusive of employees with disabilities. We can estimate that up to 20% of the tech workforce may be struggling to succeed in their job without access to crucial accommodations, leading to high turnover and burnout.
Many employees may not even be aware that they could qualify for accommodations, and many employers don’t yet have an accommodations process in place.
For most of my tech career, I wasn’t aware that I qualified for accommodations, either. When chronic illness and mental health symptoms escalated to an undeniable level at 27 years old, I wasn’t sure where to turn. I didn’t know anyone else who was managing a disability at the time; I’d never worked with an executive who disclosed a disability, either.
Dealing with my pain and coordinating my treatment on top of a demanding full time job was difficult enough — but figuring out how to talk about my disability and how to navigate my career path alongside my care proved to be even more challenging.
How much should I share with my manager or my coworkers? Will there be negative consequences if I disclose my disability at work? How do I handle inappropriate questions and comments from coworkers? Will my medical leave be approved? Will I be able to keep my job?
These are very real questions held by our community on a daily basis. The intellectual and emotional overhead of navigating disability in a professional context can leave many of us feeling depleted, and sometimes, even defeated.
Through Tech Disability Project, we are here to reshape the narrative around working with a disability.
Though I felt alone at the time, I have since connected with many others who are managing illness, injury and disability alongside their careers as well. Connecting with others who have similar experiences has encouraged and resourced me in so many ways. Through Tech Disability Project, I hope that readers might discover resources and create connections that make a meaningful difference in their lives and careers.
I started Tech Disability Project because I couldn’t find an industrywide initiative of any kind focused on the disability community. Each one of our contributors is showing incredible courage by publicly sharing the stories you’ll read this month. Our experiences are common yet underrepresented within tech culture. Through Tech Disability Project, we are here to reshape the narrative around working with a disability.
To the allies who want to show up more fully for our community — please take the time to read the posts we’ll be publishing this month. We need your support, which can only begin with a deep understanding of our experiences.
Finally, this project is dedicated to everyone in the tech industry who is managing an illness, injury or disability. We see you, we are on your team, and we are rooting for you. You deserve to have a supportive workplace environment with the accommodations you need to succeed. Our work won’t be done until that’s the case; this is just the beginning.
In love and solidarity,
Natasha
Natasha Walton has spent the last 10 years as a product leader for a number of startups in Silicon Valley, most recently as Director of Product for Livefyre. After Livefyre was acquired by Adobe in 2016, Natasha helped create and lead AccessAdobe, an Employee Resource Group for employees with disabilities.
Natasha now lives in Denver and is focused on advancing diversity & inclusion in the tech industry through Tech Disability Project. You can follow Natasha on Instagram.
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