October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)! Join Disability Rights North Carolina in taking note of this annual event, dedicated to raising awareness about employment barriers and challenges, along with the successes of people with disabilities and their valuable contributions and talents in the workforce. It also serves as a reminder that throughout the year, employers, organizations, and communities must create inclusive workplaces that accommodate and celebrate diversity and disability. By promoting NDEAM, DRNC recognizes that disabled people excel and are vital members of the work force when provided equal opportunities accommodations.
This year’s NDEAM theme, “Advancing Access and Equity: Then, Now, and Next,” was chosen to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first federal legislation to prohibit discrimination and address access and equity for people with disabilities.
Employers are reminded to take steps to ensure their hiring processes are free from discrimination and to create an environment where employees with disabilities can thrive. Accessible workplaces, reasonable accommodations, and disability-inclusive hiring practices are critical. NDEAM emphasizes that fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workforce is not only a legal and moral imperative, it is an essential element of a thriving and innovative economy. DRNC supports this opportunity for individuals and organizations to learn from the achievements and stories of disabled employees and collaborate to break down the barriers to their full participation in the workforce.