The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce® (NGLCC) has joined together with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) to promote the Campaign for Disability Employment.
The campaign is a collaborative effort between business groups and disability rights organizations to encourage employers and others to recognize the talent and value that persons with disabilities bring to the workplace.
"The LGBT community and disability community share many similarities. Not only do both our communities cross every gender and ethnicity, but we also face unfair discrimination. Supporting the employment success of people with disabilities, especially those LGBT people that are also living with a disability, is our duty as a business organization and committed partner for social justice," said NGLCC president and co-founder, Justin Nelson. Nelson noted that there are nearly 50 million Americans that are living with a disability, of which an estimated 3 million are LGBT.
The office provides national leadership on disability employment policy by developing and influencing the use of evidence-based disability employment policies and practices, building collaborative partnerships, and delivering authoritative and credible data on employment of people with disabilities.
In May 2010, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 22.3. By comparison, the percentage of persons with no disability in the labor force was 70.1. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 14.7 percent, compared with 9.1 percent for persons with no disability.
Kathleen Martinez, who is Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy, appears in an introduction to a Campaign for Disability Employment public service announcement (PSA) with Nelson.
"The Campaign is about raising expectations and changing perceptions of people with disabilities," said Martinez, who is an out lesbian with a visual impairment. "The employment outlook for people with disabilities will only improve when we have the opportunity to show the contribution we can make."
To view the PSA with the NGLCC introduction, click here.
The NGLCC is one of only three non-disability organization invited by ODEP and the collaborative to participate in the campaign, whose motivational theme is "What can YOU do?"
The other organizations involved in the campaign include the American Association of People with Disabilities, the National Business and Disability Council, the National Council of La Raza, the Society for Human Resource Management, the Special Olympics and the U.S. Business Leadership Network.
