Image description: The words “The second time podcast” in black text on a purple background. There is also a sketch of a computer and mouse.
You can listen to this podcast in a number of places:
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- RSS feed (to open in your preferred listening app)
- YouTube
This website is the only place which has the script for the episode.
I know some platforms and apps have automatic transcriptions but I cannot endorse AI and will not take responsibility for their accuracy.
Episode Script:
Last episode I covered the HOW of how I job hunt, and this episode it’s time to share some of my philosophies.
Many of these I’ve also written about, and links to the full blog posts will be in the show notes. I will be quickly going over them here.
First up, pay disabled people more because disability is expensive. People are really into equity until it comes to money. For some reason, money is where people really freeze up on equity. March 2022 data suggests that people with a disability need between 50% and 102% more income than non disabled people. And yet, this doesn’t show up in employment, even in disability focused employment or companies who pride themselves on being equitable. It’s time for them to put their money where their mouth is.
“Just don’t disclose your disability until you’re hired!”
We’ve all heard it before. Employment can be a very ableist space. Unfortunately, there comes a time or a type of need where you can’t not disclose, because you need accommodations from the very start of the recruitment process. Take me for example. I am housebound as far as employment is concerned. I cannot hide this until I’m hired because most recruitment processes are still face to face in person.
It should not be up to the person with a disability to hide who they are in order to get the same chances as a non disabled person. Employers need to show they are a safe place. Employers need to be up-skilling themselves on disability. And anti discrimination laws need to stand up for people with a disability by actively punishing employers who discriminate.
In a 2024 report published by Women With a Disability Australia there was an interesting comment:
Employment supports tended to be catered to entry level jobs and were not tailored to people’s capabilities. Those with physical disabilities or chronic conditions reported the only available jobs involving manual labour or lifting which was not possible due to their disabilities. Other people mentioned that support with their employment would be valuable for roles above entry level.”
This is completely in line with my experiences. There is an expectation that if you’re disabled, you lack skills and experience. I do not need help with resumes, experience, references, or skill building. I have all that.
On social media a while ago, I posed the question: I have two degrees, how many does it take to overcome ableism?
No one has been able to answer that question.
Getting Three out of Three is hard work, and hidden work when job hunting. The THREE for me are: the right work, the right pay, the right location. There are often jobs that are the right work and the right pay for me, but they won’t permit me to be remote. Or there are remote jobs I can apply for, but they’re very junior and average in pay. I need three out of three for a job to truly be sustainable for me.
One of the many problems with “reasonable” accomodations is that if you have a disability an employer never seen before, simply learning about your disability is often “unreasonable” to them.
A conversation I’ve had many times with recruiters and other people is that as a disabled person, I should work in disability. And I just spent three years working on a disability project, I’m not anti working in disability. I AM anti suggesting that disabled people work in disability as a DEFAULT.
Some days it’s hard to work in disability as a disabled person. Especially as person who likes a strong separation between work and personal like. When working in disability, you end up bringing SO MUCH of yourself (you knowledge, your community) to work, and that makes separation really hard.
Other issues with assuming all disabled people have to work in disability:
- it implies my only worthwhile skills and knowledge are disability ones
- if I work for certain parts of government, blogging or podcasting about disability could breach codes of conduct
- it doesn’t let me have a good work life balance
- it lets employers off the hook in implementing adjustments or accomodations in non disability centric workplaces
- it requires a level of disclosure that non disabled people don’t have to experience at work
- you’re not paid enough because disability is under valued in society and so are work roles associated with disability
- it limits your career both through where you can work, how easy it is to find a job (underfunded work sector – not many jobs), and the tasks you want to do at work
I know this episode has been a lot. I have strong feelings on the structure of the world and equity! It’s probably worth visiting the show notes for this episode so you can review the blog posts on these topics at your own speed.
Links referenced in the episode:
- Pay disabled people more because disability is expensive
- How many degrees does it take to overcome ableism?
- Three out of three
- Disclosing your disability at work
- One problem with reasonable accommodations
- Disabled? Work in disability!
Recorded and edited by myself, Vanessa Smith.
Intro and outro music by Ben Dawson.
