Each October, the ABA Commission on Disability Rights celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). This year’s theme is Disability: Part of the Equity Equation. On behalf of Chair Robert (Bob) Dinerstein, the Commission invites your entity to join the ABA in this celebration and is available to work with you or serve as a resource. Learn about NDEAM. Below are some examples of activities you can engage in.
Note: NDEAM activities are not limited to October, but can continue throughout the year to highlight the importance of including disability in your diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and other endeavors.
Join the Commission in Celebration by:
- Featuring NDEAM in social media activities; include the hashtag #NDEAM
- Linking to the Commission’s NDEAM page on your website (ambar.org/NDEAM)
- Publishing an article in your newsletter or periodical
- Hosting a CLE or webinar on disability rights or disability diversity, equity, and inclusion topics
- Hosting a "Lunch and Learn" on disability topics
- Inviting persons with disabilities to serve as panelists, authors, and participants in other programs
- Ensuring that your website, digital platforms, virtual and in-person meetings and events, webinars (including CLEs), publications, marketing pieces, surveys, reports, PDFs, and all other materials are accessible for persons with disabilities and compatible with the assistive technologies they use (e.g., screen readers)
- Ensuring that your physical office and other business spaces are fully accessible and ADA-compliant
- Providing reasonable accommodations and including a statement about such accommodations in all relevant communications
- Having a clear process for seeking accommodations in the workplace, and clearly articulate that process on your website and in all relevant materials
- Collecting voluntary, anonymous disability demographic data from your members
- Integrating disability into your diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based (SMART) goals
- Advocating for and advancing disability diversity, equity, and inclusion all year round
- Forming a disability rights and/or disability diversity, equity, and inclusion committee