Toward Inclusion: Best Practices for Hiring People with Disabilities Lydia Tang, Bridget Malley, Chris Tanguay, and Zachary Tumlin, SAA Accessibility and Disability Section J ob searches are stressful for everyone, but they can be especially challenging for people with disabilities. According to the US Department of Labor, 1 the unemployment rate for people with disabilities remains more than twice as high as for people without disabilities. People with disabilities encounter obstacles at every stage of their career, from obtaining education and credentials to navigating the job search process to thriving within a job. To encourage building a workforce inclusive of people of all abilities, the SAA Accessibility and Disability Section crowdsourced the following ideas on the prompt: “What should search committees be aware of when filling a position in terms of accessibility and disability inclusion?” t Link to your institution’s non-discrimination policy. t Express willingness to provide accommodations and indicate how an applicant can make requests. t Ensure that the platform for submitting applications is accessible. Have alternative submission options available, such as emailing materials to HR. Evaluating Candidates t Create a rubric to evaluate and select a candidate. Focus on essential qualifications directly related to job duties—avoid judgments based on “fit” or non-essential aspects of their performance. t Be mindful of implicit bias and ableism. Do you expect someone to sound, look, or behave a certain way? Are you making judgments based on ability? t Remember: You cannot ask someone to disclose a disability. This includes indirectly, such as inquiring about an accent (e.g., the “Deaf accent”) or someone’s health. You can only ask someone if they can do the job with or without reasonable accommodations. Crafting a Job Posting t Evaluate the job description for unnecessarily exclusionary “essential functions” that rely on physical ability. Anticipate potential accommodations for qualified candidates who may have challenges with “typical” archival tasks such as lifting, bending, or climbing to reach high shelving. t Consider options for flexible scheduling or remote work for tasks such as data entry, reference service, creating digital content, and meetings. Conducting Initial Interviews t Establish a standardized set of specific, targeted questions. Avoid broad, ambiguous questions, such as “tell me about yourself.” t Offer phone and video conferencing options. Allow the candidate to choose the platform (some are more accessible than others). t Email the questions in advance (Word documents are preferable to PDFs for screen readers). Display questions during a video conference. t Instruct candidates to leave their camera off during a video conference so that you focus on the substance of their responses and not their physical appearance. 2 t Understand that “non-answers” could be disability-related, such as explaining a large employment gap by saying that it was “personal,” “health-related,” or that they had to “be at home.” Conducting In-Person Interviews t Ask all candidates if they need any accommodations. t On-site interviews can be a barrier for people with disabilities. If a candidate cannot get to the site or requires additional funding to bring a personal assistant, would that disqualify them? Continued on page 17>> 4 ARCHIVAL OUTLOOK July/August 2020