Unemployment, disability and recession

Right now it's raining, washing away the snow and ice from the storms we've had.

I've been thinking about a conversation I had with a friend on Friday. She has a disability and was laid off about six months ago. She hasn't had much luck finding a job, even though willing to take a drastic pay cut. In fact, she had to push to even get accommodations to get into an accessible building for an interview.

Is it harder to get a job if you have a disability? Yes, it is. The unemployment statistics for people with disabilities are dismal, even when we're not in a recession. In many ways this recession is silently undoing progress on the employment front for many with disabilities.

Barriers to employment remain, whether there are issues of access and equipment or downright discrimination. No, you don't have to tell an employer what your disability is, but if they can see it, I'm not sure what protection that right affords. Even if they cannot tell from your physical appearance what your disability is, how do you explain what you need without saying what at least some of your physical limits are? You need to be proactive and, in many cases, be prepared to dispel some of the myths about being disabled to employers. This may not be fair, but it's realistic advice in today's job market.

I've watched my friend work ever since she graduated college. I've seen her convince colleagues and bosses who were afraid she wouldn't be able to do the job that she would be a valuable team member. I've seen her get salary raises and succeed. And, mostly, I've seen her become a professional in her field, her disability no longer that much of an issue.

But now, unemployed, she tells me that her disability looms large in interviews, yet again. She tells me that there are many other candidates for each job she applies for and she is concerned that those without disabilities will be chosen if they have the same qualifications, even though that's not supposed to happen.

I'm watching the rain wash away the remnants of the storm and thinking about my friend and others with disabilities who are losing their hard earned jobs. I'm searching for words of reassurance to tell her. Keep the faith, I tell my friend. There are people out there who will look at your resume, not just your disability. And they will not do things like cancel interviews after finding out she has a disability or tell her she has to crawl up steps to get into the building. They will listen with an open mind when you explain how you have been able to do the job for more than a decade. They will consider your application fairly, which is all you can ask for.

And perhaps they will consider this: the question to ask when interviewing a person with a disability is this one:

Does your disability affect your ability to do the job?

Because, in the end, that is what matters.

For all those, disabled and not, who are losing jobs they have proven they can do, you are in my prayers.