Press Release March 1, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Telltale Signs of on-the-job Inclusion
New York, NY - March 1, 2005 - Members of eSight Careers Network have developed at least six concrete measures for including employees with disabilities that employers can use to benchmark their diversity efforts.
And they did it by participating in a February discussion on eSight's "Swimming in the Mainstream" blog about incidents which indicated to them that their co-workers were looking beyond disability and seeing them as "real" individuals.
"'Swimming in the Mainstream' Insight: Telltale Signs of Inclusion" cites those personal experience stories and details the six inclusion measures for employers at http://www.esight.org/View.cfm?x=1761
Laura, for example, says:
"My experience has been that people 'forget' you are blind once they know you. Not that they try to forget because it is a bad thing, but it just genuinely isn't one of the top things they think of when they think of you. They think, 'Wow, she knows about computers; I can ask her my techie question…'"
The article, written specifically for employers, is currently highlighted in eSight's "Insights for Employers" section.
Nancy O'Connell, executive director of The Associated Blind, Inc., parent organization of eSight, urged those in the disability community to pass the "measures of inclusion" article onto career counselors, hiring managers or other decision makers in the mainstream workplace who might benefit from the insight generated by eSight members.
Available at http://www.tabinc.org/sim/, eSight's "Swimming in the Mainstream" blog is designed to help eSight members share their personal experiences as individuals with a disability in the workplace, help job seekers showcase their accomplishments to prospective employers and help employers expand their awareness of disability employment issues.
The blog is made possible by a grant the American Express Foundation has awarded to The Associated Blind, Inc.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Source: The Associated Blind, Inc.
Contact: Nancy O'Connell
Tel: (212) 683-4950
E-mail: MemberServices@eSightCareers.net
Online community:
www.eSight.org
Blogs:
www.tabinc.org/jsn/
www.tabinc.org/sim/
www.tabinc.org/blog/