Empowering Ability: Jane Hatton and Evenbreak's Impact on Disability Inclusion in the Workplace

For International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2024, #IAmRemarkable has partnered with leading organizations to share their insights and critical work to support individuals with disabilities in the workplace and beyond.

Jane Hatton is the CEO of Evenbreak, the only global job board run by and for disabled people. Evenbreak is an award-winning social enterprise that aims to reduce the global disability employment gap by educating employers on disability inclusion and supporting disabled candidates. Jane is a disabled author, TEDx speaker, and social entrepreneur who founded Evenbreak in 2011.

Could you tell us a bit about Evenbreak?

Evenbreak is an award-winning social enterprise, based in the UK and operating globally, run entirely by and for disabled people. We aim to reduce the global disability employment gap in three ways. We support employers to become more inclusive and accessible through training and consultancy and an online best practice portal. We offer inclusive and accessible careers support for disabled people looking for new or better work. And we help inclusive employers and disabled candidates to find each other through the only global disability job board run by and for disabled people. All of our services are designed and delivered by people with lived experience of disability.

What advice would you give to individuals with disabilities who are entering the workforce or aiming to advance their careers?

Focus on the value you bring with you! Whilst some recruiters and hiring managers may see disabled people as a ‘problem’, the reality is that we are assets; in fact, ‘premium candidates’. Being disabled means we face many barriers in society every day, and as a result of having to navigate around these barriers, we develop skills like creative thinking, problem solving, project management, determination – all really useful skills for employers. We also represent 20% –25% of the population, and therefore bring crucial internal intelligence on how to meet the needs of disabled customers, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders. We also bring diversity of thought, creating innovation and giving companies a leading edge. Make sure you remember the added value you bring, and remind employers of that.

Could you share a tip for anybody who wants to be a better ally to the disability community?

The simplest thing is to ask what you can do to be supportive, and respect the answer. Every disabled person is different, and may need different kinds of support, if any. By not making assumptions, and asking the question, it ensures you offer what is actually supportive, rather than what you think might be. If I could share a bonus tip, it would be to ensure that disability inclusion is considered, even if no disabled people are present. Remind colleagues and decision-makers that disability inclusion needs to be central to everything.

Why are diverse workforces important?

The population is diverse, and having a workforce that reflects that diversity means that you can appeal to everyone. There is much research that demonstrates companies with diverse boards and employees make better decisions, create better impact, and actually achieve better financial results too.

What are some common misconceptions around making workplaces inclusive?

I think the biggest misconception is that inclusion is expensive, and results in lower standards. In reality, the opposite is true. Being inclusive will require some financial investment, but the return will more than outweigh this. And having diverse perspectives, a range of different lived experience and a variety of skill sets and viewpoints will help the workplace improve in many, many ways. For example, at Evenbreak, we only employ disabled people who are diverse in other ways too (race, gender, age, culture etc), and I would absolutely credit our success to this. We succeed because of our diversity, not despite it.

How would you describe the progress we’ve made toward inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities? Are there particular trends or developments that give you hope, or areas where you think more effort is needed?

There has definitely been some improvement, albeit quite slow and over a long period of time. New buildings have (somewhat minimal) accessible building regulations to adhere to. Some employers are beginning to realise the benefits of attracting and nurturing a diverse workforce. There is some increased representation of diversity on mainstream media. When I look at young disabled people, I feel hope. They tend to be more assertive about their rights to inclusion and accessibility, and challenge ableism more than previous generations. My concern is that progress is too slow. Young people in the 2020s should have no need to demand their rights – they should be automatically given and expected. The narrative around disabled people being ‘objects of pity’, ‘benefit scroungers’ or ‘inspirational’ is still too prevalent. Much too often, government policy is based on this premise. There needs to be much more emphasis on removing disabling barriers in society. There is nothing wrong with disabled people; what is wrong is that we live in a world not designed for us. If we stopped trying to change disabled people, and focused on changing society so that everyone can participate on an equal level, then everyone would benefit.