This session asks us to move past performative inclusion and into a space of reckoning, where we name the fact that many organizations are still places where disabled employees feel pressure to hide their identities, where accessibility is still an afterthought, and where disability is often equated with incapability.

We’ll explore how broader social and legislative attacks—on public broadcasting, healthcare, and access—are not distant political issues, but deeply connected to employment, safety, and belonging. We’ll look at how representation in the media shapes perception, how policies affect hiring pipelines and retention, and why so many disabled people are still forced to constantly pivot to survive systems that were never built with them in mind.