How can you use persuasion to create a more inclusive workplace for people with disabilities?

WARNING: This question carries a misguided assumption. Persuasion (negative) can be considered a mild form of coercion, which has connotations to manipulation / bullying, with 'similar terms', including, moral pressure, cajoling, arm-twisting, soft-soaping, wheedling and pressure. Such beliefs about one person's effect on another as 'leadership', has us pulling in all the wrong directions, when we look at the efficiency of change through the neuroscience lens. Rather than persuade, we must recognise engagement follows inclusion, and attitude follows belief. Given what we know today about neuroscience, we must focus on root cause (neurogenesis), i.e. how brians update their modus operandi, toward, self, and others.

I fear there is some seriously muddled thinking behind this question. The answer is not primarily in strategic thinking or operational management, but in the culture of the organisation and how well that culture fits with the perceived purpose of the organisation and how well accepted is that purpose.

1) Show that inclusion benefits everyone with examples of accessible products and workplace adjustments for disabled people, we all benefit from subtitles, teams, smart speakers, map applications, and flexible working patterns, easy to use physical spaces like with dropped kerbs and clear signage 2) Show them the numbers that if you're considering disabled people in your work, you might be creating barriers for 20% of your colleagues and customers 3) Tell them we as disabled people value progress not perfection, we rather have people do things and make mistakes than not do anything and promise them your kindness if things don't go well when done with the right intentions.

While disability is not a bad word, there may be some cultures where disabled folks themselves might want to use a word which means a slightly different word when literally translated could be a different word. Need to be respectful of how individuals and groups would like to call themselves.

Most people don't realise that the disabled population in the UK is greater than the combined populations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. If businesses don't have accessibility and inclusion plans that consider the needs of disabled users and customers, they stand to lose out on a potentially massive and influential population. If people can't access your products, services and communications: they won't. It's that simple. In the never ending search for new customer segments, it amazes me that so many businesses fail to recognise the value of meeting disabled customers needs. Especially when so many of the things that help businesses to meet disabled users needs are really easy to implement.

Explaining people about the diversity of conditions on how and when you can be disabled can help understand and empathise, such as most people become disabled to age at some point in their life and there are temporary and permanent disabilities empathy among non disabled folks

A simple analysis of the customers you serve and or the communities we live in compared with our employee base ! This determines where your business is under represented .. for example about 1 in 6 people have a disability, does your employee base look like that ? If not move the dial …