WEBVTT 00:00:02.659 --> 00:00:03.810 My name is Sean Marihugh 00:00:03.810 --> 00:00:06.910 and I work at Microsoft. I’m an escalation engineer 00:00:06.910 --> 00:00:09.190 on what's called the Disability Answer Desk 00:00:09.190 --> 00:00:10.960 which is a free technical support service 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:12.410 for customers with disabilities. 00:00:12.410 --> 00:00:14.810 I'm Jean Hodgson. 00:00:14.810 --> 00:00:16.100 I work for PROVAIL. 00:00:16.100 --> 00:00:18.140 We're a nonprofit organization 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:20.710 that advocates for folks with disabilities. 00:00:20.710 --> 00:00:24.640 We help them get into the mainstream job market, 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.689 into mainstream jobs working with Americans 00:00:27.689 --> 00:00:31.199 in the fields of all different types of work. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:32.630 I'm Sam Sepah. 00:00:32.630 --> 00:00:35.550 I am an HR professional and I have worked 00:00:35.550 --> 00:00:39.820 for a variety of tech companies over the last 10 years of my career. 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:43.760 And now I'm focusing on recruitment for software engineers. 00:00:46.020 --> 00:00:49.879 I'm Susann Sears and I work for the University of Illinois, 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:53.700 specifically with the Disability Resources and Educational Services office. 00:00:54.380 --> 00:00:55.640 I'm Mike Forehand. 00:00:55.649 --> 00:00:57.719 I work in the recruiting space 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:02.559 with a focus on creating diversity outreach 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:04.950 primarily towards the disabled community. 00:01:06.320 --> 00:01:08.160 My name is Tony Baylis. 00:01:08.170 --> 00:01:12.080 I work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 00:01:12.080 --> 00:01:14.220 that's in Livermore, California. 00:01:14.220 --> 00:01:17.770 It's one of 17 Department of Energy labs. 00:01:17.770 --> 00:01:19.800 Our focus is on national security. 00:01:19.800 --> 00:01:21.240 [music] 00:01:21.240 --> 00:01:27.200 Recruiting and Retaining Employees with Disabilities 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:28.000 People with disabilities 00:01:28.009 --> 00:01:31.650 are in general fairly underrepresented in a lot of fields. 00:01:31.650 --> 00:01:36.760 Computing’s definitely one of the top fields there. 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:39.610 I think it's really critical that we, that students, 00:01:39.610 --> 00:01:43.039 feel encouraged and empowered to pursue fields of computing 00:01:43.039 --> 00:01:45.580 because I think they can pave the way 00:01:45.580 --> 00:01:48.240 to make everyone else's experience with technology better. 00:01:49.080 --> 00:01:52.239 How are we supposed to solve societal problems 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:55.850 if we're not representing society as a whole? 00:01:55.850 --> 00:02:00.090 And in that regard, you need to be inclusive 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:05.039 with the individuals that you're serving and that's the entire population. 00:02:05.039 --> 00:02:09.879 If you have 2 billion people with disabilities, 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:11.250 how can you ignore that? 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:16.700 How can you ignore not inviting them into the discussion? 00:02:18.700 --> 00:02:20.720 Candidates with disabilities 00:02:20.820 --> 00:02:24.460 have a unique thought process to bring to a company. 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:27.470 Our country is diverse so the marketplace needs to attract 00:02:27.470 --> 00:02:29.310 a lot of diverse people who will 00:02:29.310 --> 00:02:33.430 use the products that we're selling or the services we're providing. 00:02:33.430 --> 00:02:40.130 If a country is diverse, your team needs to be diverse as well 00:02:40.130 --> 00:02:44.860 to parallel what our country's demographics are. 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:48.080 As team members 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:51.630 they're just as passionate about making a contribution 00:02:51.630 --> 00:02:57.470 and being a part of a broader team as everyone else is, 00:02:57.470 --> 00:02:59.670 the difference being that they look at the world 00:02:59.670 --> 00:03:02.840 and they have different problem-solving and coping skills 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:04.860 that lead them to different solutions. 00:03:04.860 --> 00:03:06.840 I don't think it's the case 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:10.660 that someone with a disability knows everything about everyone else's disability, 00:03:10.660 --> 00:03:13.420 but I think they bring a certain empathy to a company 00:03:13.420 --> 00:03:16.319 so they'll understand people have different experiences 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:19.120 and having interns and employees with disabilities, 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:21.760 I think they can bring that perspective. 00:03:21.940 --> 00:03:26.280 I think having people with disabilities in your culture 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:30.000 actually helps people to better understand 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.870 about our cultural differences, about our learning differences, 00:03:32.870 --> 00:03:37.160 about how you can have different perspectives. 00:03:38.040 --> 00:03:39.400 More sensitivity is needed 00:03:39.410 --> 00:03:42.780 when you're talking about interviewing these type of candidates. 00:03:42.780 --> 00:03:45.640 You need to think about the support that they're going to need 00:03:45.640 --> 00:03:48.620 in the interview beforehand. 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:50.370 And have more of a streamlined process 00:03:50.370 --> 00:03:54.380 that makes the candidates feel welcomed right at the start of the interview 00:03:54.380 --> 00:03:57.350 so that they feel welcomed into the team. 00:03:57.350 --> 00:03:58.930 They know what's going to have to be happening 00:03:58.930 --> 00:04:01.080 in the process of the interview. 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:02.959 It empowers them and really allows 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:05.810 for that magic to happen in the interview process. 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:09.620 We work currently as a partner with Microsoft 00:04:09.630 --> 00:04:11.720 on their autistic hiring program. 00:04:11.720 --> 00:04:17.030 We help them recruit, we help them obtain lots of individuals 00:04:17.030 --> 00:04:20.100 that they might include in their hiring pool. 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:23.030 We coach the folks that are going to be interviewing them, 00:04:23.030 --> 00:04:25.350 we coach the interviewees 00:04:25.350 --> 00:04:28.170 in helping them through some of the difficult areas 00:04:28.170 --> 00:04:30.150 like phone screenings, 00:04:30.150 --> 00:04:34.230 making a little bit of a softer job interview process 00:04:34.230 --> 00:04:37.490 so that you can get to the core of the skills of the individual 00:04:37.490 --> 00:04:40.720 and see if they are a great fit for your employment. 00:04:41.760 --> 00:04:44.520 One study that really inspired me 00:04:44.530 --> 00:04:52.450 that I read about was asking customers in the marketplace 00:04:52.450 --> 00:04:57.570 if they learned about a company that hired people with disabilities. 00:04:57.570 --> 00:05:00.990 What they found out was that customers that found this out about companies 00:05:00.990 --> 00:05:03.990 would be more willing to buy their products and services 00:05:03.990 --> 00:05:06.350 and we learned that it's because customers have more respect 00:05:06.350 --> 00:05:08.340 for a business that does that 00:05:08.340 --> 00:05:10.680 not only because it's the right thing to do 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:15.030 but because they're really taking charge of that responsibility. 00:05:15.030 --> 00:05:18.200 They're committed to diversity and hiring a diverse workforce, 00:05:18.200 --> 00:05:19.790 including people with disabilities. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:26.800 Anytime that inclusion is part of a goal, everyone benefits. 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:29.970 And when there's technology that is inclusive, 00:05:29.970 --> 00:05:31.800 such as videos that are captioned 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:40.090 or websites where it's more accessible to someone with any type of difficulty, 00:05:40.090 --> 00:05:41.980 then there’s a more expansive audience, 00:05:41.980 --> 00:05:45.020 there’s more expansive ability for profiting. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.900 I think that the investment in everybody's future 00:05:48.910 --> 00:05:53.900 has to do with building and designing things that are accessible 00:05:53.900 --> 00:05:56.030 from the very beginning. 00:05:56.030 --> 00:05:58.090 It's an investment for all our futures, 00:05:58.090 --> 00:06:02.300 not just the person, individuals, with disabilities. 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:06.620 None of us know what's going to happen to us individually. 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:09.040 In a matter of seconds, your whole life can change 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:11.979 and you yourself may join the disability community 00:06:11.979 --> 00:06:13.900 and need these accommodations, 00:06:13.900 --> 00:06:17.669 so it's not just about, you know, hiring and recruiting people 00:06:17.669 --> 00:06:20.060 but it's an investment for all of us. 00:06:20.880 --> 00:06:23.140 I think we have a challenge, 00:06:23.150 --> 00:06:28.120 but to include people with disabilities 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:32.840 we have to start to work on shedding biases in general, 00:06:32.840 --> 00:06:35.990 these implicit and unconscious biases across the board 00:06:35.990 --> 00:06:39.110 and that’s even with people with disabilities. 00:06:39.110 --> 00:06:41.920 I think we'll have a long road, unfortunately, 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:46.520 but I think it's a road that we can work together. 00:06:46.520 --> 00:06:48.990 I think we need organizations and companies 00:06:48.990 --> 00:06:51.080 to collaboratively work on this effort. 00:06:51.080 --> 00:06:53.050 In an environment 00:06:53.050 --> 00:06:58.690 where industry is based on cross-cultural collaboration 00:06:58.690 --> 00:07:02.199 and everything is kind of team-oriented, 00:07:02.200 --> 00:07:07.560 having a completely different point of view is invaluable. 00:07:08.960 --> 00:07:11.740 When we're bringing the perspectives of, 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:14.460 at least considering the different perspectives that other people have, 00:07:14.460 --> 00:07:16.900 I think we can make our products way more inclusive, 00:07:16.900 --> 00:07:19.509 make our culture, make our workplace 00:07:19.509 --> 00:07:21.980 just way more inclusive and a better place to be. 00:07:22.840 --> 00:07:23.580 Truly, 00:07:23.580 --> 00:07:29.840 attitudinal access is the most important part of being inclusive. 00:07:29.850 --> 00:07:33.210 It's not physical access. It's attitudinal access. 00:07:33.210 --> 00:07:39.300 So we have to impact culture and I know that takes a while 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:41.460 and that can be challenging 00:07:41.460 --> 00:07:44.800 but I think starting out small and having one good success 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:48.380 is an incredible start and then you build momentum from there. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:54.000 Engage with AccessComputing to develop strategies for 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.500 recruiting, onboarding, and retaining employees with 00:07:56.500 --> 00:07:59.000 disabilities. 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:03.400 For more information on AccessComputing, visit 00:08:03.400 --> 00:08:09.000 uw.edu/accesscomputing 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:14.000 AccessComputing is a collaboration of DO-IT, the Department of 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:17.000 Computer Science and Engineering and the Information School at 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:20.000 the University of Washington. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:25.000 This video and other aspects of the AccessComputing project are 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:27.800 funded by the National Science Foundation as part of the 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:31.000 Broadening Participation in Computing Program of the Directorate 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:36.000 for Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:44.000 grant number CNS-1539179. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:48.000 Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.000 expressed in this video are those of the author and do not 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:55.000 necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:00.000 Copyright 2016 Univesity of Washington. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 Permission is granted to copy these materials for educational 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:08.000 non-commercial purposes provided the source is acknowledged.