5 Things / The Blind Guy
Listen to the full episode here:
In the U.S., March is recognized as not only Women’s History Month but also as National Developmental Disabilities Month. I was today years old when I learned that vision impairment is considered a developmental disability. Lucky us that I have John Samuel on 5 Things in 15 Minutes next week.
John is the founder of Ablr, a digital accessibility consultancy. He also happens to be blind and is the author of the fabulous memoir Don't Ask the Blind Guy for Directions. The book’s a real page-turner, and it’s funny! In it, John shares his struggle to accept his increasing vision loss, his great lengths to be perceived as sighted, and the awesomeness that unfolded when he found self-acceptance. John’s an impressive guy and I know it’s going to be a great show next week.
Seriously, if you haven’t been listening to 5 Things in 15 Minutes, you’re missing out. One listener wrote: “I appreciate the bite-sized content paired with a really uplifting vibe.” Search for “good vibes in DEI” on your favorite podcast platform, then subscribe.
I’ve had such great conversations: Rhonda Payne and I talked about the “yes, and” of 5 Things; and Veronica Smith and I chatted about the importance of measuring success with data. The conversations are delightful and are a great start to my own week. I hope you’ll subscribe and feel the same way.
Here are the good vibes I found this week:
New Lego Sets Feature Characters With A Range Of Disabilities
Lego recently added some new characters with disabilities in its Lego Friends sets as well as on the Lego Friends TV series on YouTube. Lego surveyed 50k+ parents and kids last year and they wanted more diversity! Nearly 75% of children felt that there were not enough toys that looked like them. New characters include those with Down syndrome, limb differences, anxiety, vitiligo and a dog with a wheelchair. This matters because seeing themselves represented in Lego mini-figs and on TV may help these feel less stigma around their disabilities, and, for other kids, normalize disabilities as just another way to be in the world.
Minnesota Governor Signs Order Protecting Access to Gender-Affirming Health Care
Transgender people are being systematically attacked by bills across the U.S., including some new laws banning gender-affirming care for youth. The glimmer of hope this week is that Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, has proven himself a meaningful ally. This week, he signed an Executive Order that establishes Minnesota as a safe state for transgender residents and refugees for those seeking gender-affirming care. The order reads: “All state agencies must, to the fullest extent of their lawful authority, pursue opportunities and coordinate with each other to protect people or entities providing, assisting, seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care services in Minnesota.”
How IKEA Retail Reached Gender Balance Globally For Leadership Roles
Roughly half of the global leaders within IKEA are women, up significantly over the last decade. How they did it is a model for everyone: full commitment from the CEO, bias training, pay reviews, and new hiring rules, including requiring that the final two candidates for leadership positions be a man and a woman. And to tie it all together, gender balance performance metrics for leaders. Check out the article for a great case study. This matters because it’s about damn time the $.82 gender pay gap closed, and systematic change is how to make a real impact.
QVC Boosts Adaptive, Accessible Product Offerings
QVC, the home shopping network, has a new spokesperson, the actress Selma Blair, who has multiple sclerosis. They’re working together to promote a new, robust line of accessible and adaptive products in the categories of fashion, home, electronics and beauty, all easily filtered on the QVC website. There’s even a new QVC show, Accessible Living, which features “essential home products that simplify everyday tasks and promote independent living.” I love this story because it’s reducing the stigma around adaptive products, and these products are allowing more people (65 million Americans) to fully experience the world.
Biden’s Dei Executive Order Mandates That Each Government Agency Create an “Equity Team” and Also Establishes a DEI Steering Committee
Last month U.S. President Biden issued one calling for each government agency to create equity teams and establish a diversity, equity, and inclusion steering committee to hold these teams accountable. It's worth noting the order's definition of equity: “the consistent and systematic treatment of all individuals in a fair, just, and impartial manner,” particularly those who have often “been denied such treatment.” The order goes on to name such specific groups as a broad definition of diversity, including people living in rural areas and women and girls. This matters because recently, anti-diversity U.S. governors have been rolling back DEI initiatives and even inclusive educational curriculums, and at least at the federal level, progress continues towards systemic change.
Call to action:
Watch Crip Camp on Netflix, a fantastic and funny documentary about the disability rights movement. Judy Heumann, one of the leaders of the movement who was prominent in the documentary, passed this week.
Watch here: