The new “Who I Am” public service announcement from the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s Campaign for Disability Employment is now airing on television stations around the country. The PSA features nine people with disabilities who are not defined solely by their disability but instead by their many life roles — including working in jobs they love. The participants in the “Who I Am” PSA remind us that recognizing the value they add to the workplace fosters a work culture welcoming of the talents of all individuals. Fostering a work environment that is flexible and open to the talents of all qualified individuals, including those with disabilities, actually promotes workplace success for everyone.
What can YOU do to help promote inclusion and opportunities for people with disabilities in the workplace? Show your support by encouraging your local television stations to air the “Who I Am” PSA. “Who I Am” reminds us to see one another for who we are and what we can contribute. The PSA will positively impact television viewers and empower those with disabilities – especially those with non-apparent disabilities – to bring their whole selves to everything they do – including their work. The CDE invites you to encourage stations to air the PSA by sending a letter or e-mail to your local television stations. The CDE offers a template letter to make it easy.
While the “Who I Am” PSA is intended for television broadcast, the CDE would like to see the PSA and its important message distributed as widely as possible. To facilitate this outreach, everyone is encouraged to share the “Who I Am” PSA by accessing the PSA section of the Website. There are English and Spanish versions of the PSA available in both audio introduced and open captioned formats. Also, as part of the “Who I Am” Outreach Toolkit, the CDE will soon offer accompanying posters and discussion guides, which will include DVD copies of all PSA formats.
Another way to participate in the CDE’s effort is to promote inclusion by sharing the diverse factors that make you who YOU are. Whatever unique identities you bring with you to work each day, chances are you’ve drawn upon many of them to do your job better, whether consciously or not. Because everyone can add value to the workplace, the CDE has launched the Ask Me Who I Am public engagement effort, which asks everyone to use hashtag #WhoIAmPSA to share one or more of their diverse identities to demonstrate the various skills and talents all workers can contribute. Join the effort by sharing what factors make you who YOU are.
The Campaign for Disability Employment is a collaborative effort to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities by encouraging employers and others to recognize the value and talent they bring to the workplace. Stay current on the CDE’s initiatives by following the Campaign for Disability Employment using Twitter and Facebook. To learn more about this campaign and to view this and other PSAs, visit the CDE Website.
