The New Society Institute (NSI) has been working on an initiative that aims to address barriers to labour market participation for marginalized Deaf and disabled women∕gender diverse people through use of the online platform, The Accessibility Exchange (TAE). The project’s ‘target’ communities are Indigenous, Black, racialized, non-status, refugee women and gender diverse Deaf and disabled people, with a focus on intellectual, cognitive, and mental health disabilities.
TAE is an online platform connecting people with disabilities and Deaf people to federally regulated organizations (FRO), to identify and remove barriers to their services, as mandated by the Accessible Canada Act. TAE is meant to create income generating opportunities for disabled and Deaf people who experience numerous barriers to employment, e.g., lack of work-related disability supports and discrimination. TAE offers opportunities for disabled and Deaf women and gender diverse people to gain skills needed to become paid consultants, earning real wages by providing their expertise to FROs in safe-discrimination free environments.
Through this initiative, NSI has also began to develop practical strategies that will address distinct, gender-based disability and intersectional barriers, to securing TAE work contracts. For the target group to prosper through TAE, workplace strategies are needed to combat gender-based racism, ableism, transphobia, audism, and mental health stigma in attaining contracts and to address intersectional sexism and genderism in FRO’s hiring practices.
