ABA marks Disability Employment Awareness Month

The American Bar Association joins the nation in marking National DisabilityEmployment Awareness Month, particularly to help advance the recruitment, hiring, retention and advancement of lawyers with disabilities.

Observed each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month celebrates the value and talents workers with disabilities contribute to America’s workplaces and economy. The theme for the 79th observance of NDEAM is “Access to Good Jobs for All.”

“The American Bar Association recognizes and celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and joins the nation in raising awareness of the value of a diverse workforce,” said ABA President Bill Bay. “This year’s theme for National Disability Employment Awareness Month, ‘Access to Good Jobs for All,’ emphasizes the importance of ensuring disabled workers have the equal opportunities to obtain high-quality, well-paying jobs in inclusive workplaces. The ABA is committed to our goal of eliminating bias and enhancing diversity in the legal profession.”

As part of the month’s activities, the ABA Commission on Disability Rights and the Civil Rights and Social Justice Section will sponsor the Oct. 28 webinar “Disability and Intersectionality: Lawyers Share Their Experience.” The program will feature attorneys with disabilities addressing how their multiple identities have shaped their advocacy for justice and equality for all, benefited their lawyer-client relationships, created allyship with lawyers from other marginalized communities and resulted in unique challenges and barriers in the profession.