Breaking Stereotypes: Disability Inclusion in the Workplace - Hannah's Experience

Hannah O’Dowd

Hannah O’Dowd, Management Consultant, Talent & Organization Practice, joined us to discuss her disability and how her perspective on accessibility has changed.

During her time as a university student, Hannah was involved in an accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other permanent orthopaedic and spinal injuries. The TBI altered the way her brain processes information, and the orthopaedic and spinal injuries impact her mobility and cause her pain.

Hannah describes her journey to us and how she uses her experiences to educate those inside and outside of Accenture on why increased accessibility is beneficial for everyone.

Q: What do you wish everyone knew about you?

A:  Due to the TBI, I process information differently than before the injury. On my bad days, I experience extreme fatigue, which heightens my cognitive difficulties and exaggerates the pain I feel from my orthopaedic and spinal injuries. While I might look like your average person walking down the street, under the surface, there’s a lot more going on that has to be managed.

Q: How do your lived experiences, skills and talents enable you to add value to Accenture and its clients?

A: My unique life experience means I’m very aware of accessibility or the lack thereof in communications and services. So, this provides insight to ensure that the deliverables we provide can benefit as many people as possible. I’m also able to educate others about working inclusively and providing a work environment that enables everyone to bring their best, true, authentic selves to work and feel safe to do so.

Q: Can you give an example of how you’ve added more to your deliverables as a result of what you know and your own disability?

A: In terms of communication, if there is a user guide or an explanation of how to use the product that isn’t necessarily clear to everyone or is in a format that isn’t accessible to everyone, I will highlight this and amend it so that people who are visually impaired, and people who have cognitive difficulties will still be able to access the same information.

Q: As someone who’s experienced life with and without a disability, how does that enrich your perspective on your own life and interacting with others?

A: Before my accident, I wasn’t aware of how inaccessible so much of the world is. So, my life experience has made me determined to work to create an environment that is as accessible as possible for all individuals. It’s opened my eyes to another side of the world that isn’t shaped for me or for other people who have different cognitive diversities or physical disabilities. The norm is not tailored to accommodate, so I want to work to change it so that it is accommodating.

Q: Why is embracing accessibility better for everyone?

A: The most obvious example is someone who is a wheelchair user and cannot access a building which only has stairs. But if there’s a ramp, it is equally accessible to them and everyone else who doesn’t use a wheelchair. And if someone is required to use crutches for two weeks, they can still access the building via the ramp. But if you have only stairs, you are shutting out a good percentage of the public from accessing the building.

Everyone is a person first; their disability doesn’t define them. Their contribution and their accessibility to any information, to any building, to any event, to any experience, is just as valuable to anyone else who doesn’t have a disability or a cognitive difference. It’s important to understand that person with a disability has the exact same right to information, experiences and events as any other person. Their value doesn’t change just because of their disability.

Q: What advice would you give your colleagues and clients to collaborate best with you?

A: My advice would be to remember that I am a person first, and my disability doesn’t define me. It’s part of who I am, and while I might think and process differently, that doesn’t make my contributions any less valuable. A different route to an answer might be different, but it isn’t always any better or worse. A diverse team is a stronger team, so having different ways of thinking is a benefit. In terms of collaborating with me or any colleague, if you ensure that their contributions and work are being openly valued, then it will create a stronger team and your outputs as a team will be better because of it.