October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, a chance to increase awareness and advance equal opportunities for people with disabilities. In Canada, one in five, or 3.2 million workers experience some form of disability.1 Last year, the unemployment rate among persons with disability remained higher (7.6%) compared to those without disability (4.6%).2
Each week throughout October, we’re profiling a member of DisAbility at Coast, our employee resource group (ERG). This volunteer employee-driven network raises awareness and acceptance by organizing workshops, hosting guest speakers, and holding panel discussions.
1 From Statistics Canada. Labour force status of persons with and without disabilities aged 15 years and over, by age group and gender. March 2024.
2 From Statistics Canada. Labour market characteristics of persons with and without disabilities, 2023. June 2024.
Meet Anindita Sundaram (She/Her/Hers), Senior Manager of Digital Banking and Chair of DisAbility at Coast Capital.
Why did you join the ERG?
At the core of my beliefs, I want to leave something better than how I found it, and the universe keeps providing me opportunities to do so. The ERG has been a home of people who think like me. I’ve been a caregiver for someone who struggled with an undiagnosed mental health issue and was terribly misunderstood. I’ve experienced struggles to find support. The ERG is my opportunity to champion and be a support for someone who is looking to be understood.
What can organizations do to promote better awareness and acceptance of disabilities?
We are all different—some more so than others. And yet, we are the same. Everyone needs to belong, fulfill a purpose, and take pride in what they do. Organizations sometimes promote disability awareness by talking about it more often and normalizing the differences. They operate in structures to ensure things are predictable and measurable. People, however, don’t always fit into neat boxes and flexibility is key. Employers can support workers with disabilities by emphasizing the way service is provided may look a little different but it’s not lesser; it’s just different. The ability of employers to be flexible would empower many people with disabilities.
How is Coast Capital doing in challenging misconceptions about disabilities?
Coast has created a phenomenal equity, diversity, and inclusion engine in the last few years. The continued conversation about equity ensures it stays top of mind. They have embraced what accessibility means, why it’s important, and that making it better for one makes it better for everyone. Understanding this helps dispel a lot of misconceptions about different disabilities and how they may present. Someone living with tunnel vision or colour blindness needs an entirely different accommodation than another who has complete vision loss. Coast is working to provide accessibility training that helps us understand the social aspect of how to accommodate a particular disability. We can always do more, but we are eating the elephant the only way we can—one bite at a time.
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Coast Capital takes a person-first approach to disability. We understand that disability is complex. It reflects an interaction between the person and the society in which they live. Physical and non-physical workplace barriers can limit an individual’s full and equal participation.
A disability can occur at any time in a person’s life. Some people are born with a disability while others develop a disability later in life. It can be permanent, temporary, or episodic. Disability can steadily worsen, remain the same, or improve. It can be very mild to very severe.
Coast Capital’s definition of disability builds upon how disability is defined in the Accessible Canada Act. It demonstrates that disabilities are socially constructed. Disabilities emerge from the relationship between the individual and society. At Coast Capital, this definition reminds us that it is our responsibility to remove barriers for persons with disabilities because barriers are created and reinforced by the ways we think and act as a society.
