By Larysa Kautz

When I think about my father and his career, I think about what could have been had he not been stifled by the way others viewed his disability.

Before the advent of computerized software and digital design programs, my father was a skilled draftsman, capable of creating detailed plans for bridges and roads, all by hand. When technology changed the nature of his work, no one invested in teaching him new skills to help him grow in his career because they could not see past his differences.

In spite of his skill, he spent the rest of his career in low-paying, entry-level positions and never worked in the field he loved again. As a result, my family was subjected to poverty and instability, and society was denied the mind of a brilliant man who had much to offer.

While our views around disability in the workplace are changing, those artificial barriers steeped in social stigmas and biases against people with disabilities, and the perception of worth driven by how closely someone skews to what has been portrayed as “normal,” continue to plague the one in four Americans who live with a disability—and it’s a problem that impacts all of us.

A Different Path Forward

This National Disability Employment Awareness Month, I’m calling on organizations of all sizes, both in the public and private sectors, to challenge the status quo. It is not enough to view entry-level positions as the only goal for people with disabilities. The disability community is powerful, dynamic, and belongs in every segment of an organization, from the Board of Directors to front-line positions to customer service to business development to finance and so much more. We must reset societal expectations, expand our understanding of acceptance, and recognize what we all miss out on when we allow artificial barriers to limit someone’s career potential.

Melwood, where I serve as President & CEO, is showing us a different path forward.

Melwood has been championing the rights and talents of people with disabilities for more than 60 years. In addition to providing career exploration, development and job training in our community, we directly employ 1,600 people each year, over 900 of whom have significant disabilities. By taking an individualized and strengths-based approach to job training and placement, we create career pathways for our employees, ensuring that someone’s first job with us isn’t also their last. And we don’t stop there.

A Better Employer, A Better Community Partner

At Melwood, people with disabilities are included at every level of our organization, from our board of directors and upper leadership to the skilled workers who operate our mail room, provide premier grounds keeping services, or perform exemplary work to keep facilities around the DMV functioning. We don’t operate this way because it is part of our mission—we operate this way because it makes good business sense. This representation has made us stronger, more innovative, more competitive, and a better employer and community partner.

These results are not limited to our organization alone. Research shows that companies that recruit, hire and retain employees with disabilities earn higher revenue and have higher economic profit margins than companies that don’t. These results directly correlate to the business benefits people with disabilities bring to the workforce, including increased innovation, improved productivity, and a better work environment.  The disability community is an incredible reservoir of creativity, adaptability and resilience—qualities that have potential to exponentially benefit every employer and every community across our country.

More than 70 million people in our country today have a disability. Many in the disability community want to work, are capable and qualified to work, but have yet to be given an opportunity to showcase their skills and talents. Given that the U.S. GDP could get a boost of up to $25 billion if more people with disabilities entered the workforce, it is in our country’s interests to be more deliberate in how we tap into, recruit, retain, and promote talent to bring these voices into all levels of our organizations.