CIA Celebrates Contributions of Officers with Disabilities
During National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), which takes place each October, CIA is hosting events to celebrate the contributions of our officers with disabilities and to help all officers better understand the experiences of their colleagues with disabilities. Some of the themes we are exploring include:
- Being an ally to Deaf and Hard of Hearing colleagues
- Understanding what neurodiverse officers wish people knew about them
- Learning etiquette to use with colleagues who are blind or have low vision
- Appreciating the daily challenges officers with physical or mobility challenges often face
- Understanding the hidden disabilities some colleagues are living with, often without anyone else knowing
CIA’s observance of NDEAM is one way we show our commitment to building a workforce that reflects the nation’s diversity. At CIA, we want to emphasize the essential roles of officers with disabilities and the importance of inclusive policies and practices. We want to ensure that people seeking to contribute to our mission are able to and that they have access to services in order to do so. In summary, “Everything you are is needed here.”
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More on National Disability Employment Awareness Month
NDEAM started in 1945 when Congress declared the first week in October the National Employee Physically Handicapped Week to boost inclusion of returning service members to the workforce. President George H. W. Bush expanded the event to a month-long observance in 1988. The 2020 NDEAM theme is “Increasing Access and Opportunity.”