What and When is Disability Pride Month?
Disability Pride Month occurs in the United States every July to commemorate the passing of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 1990. Since 1990, Disability Pride Month has celebrated disabled people, their identities and culture, and their contributions to society. It also seeks to change the way people think about and define disability, to end the stigma of disability, and to promote the belief that disability is a natural part of human diversity in which people living with disabilities can celebrate and take pride.
It is now celebrated more widely and is celebrated in July each year.
Disability Pride Flag
Disability Pride has a flag created by Ann Magill and entered into the public domain in 2019. Magill’s original flag featured a lightning bolt design and bright colors on a black background. The flag was redesigned in 2021 with muted colors and straight stripes in response to feedback from those with visually triggered disabilities. The new design limits the strobe effect created by the lightning bolt to be more visually safe for those with migraines and visually triggered seizures. The color brightness changes make the flag more accessible to those with color blindness. The new flag comprises several different elements, each symbolising different aspects of the disability experience.
- All six “standard” flag colors: Disability spans borders between states and nations
- Black Field: Mourning for victims of ableist violence and abuse
- Diagonal Band: “Cutting across” the walls and barriers that separate disabled people from society
- Red Stripe: Physical disabilities
- Gold Stripe: Neurodivergence
- White Stripe: Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
- Blue Stripe: Psychiatric disabilities
- Green Stripe: Sensory disabilities
The month is a chance to focus on and celebrate the disabled community and their pride. Alongside the celebration, the month is also a chance to kickstart conversations about disability experiences and issues.
What can you do in Disability Pride Month?
Disability Pride Month can mean various things to each individual in the disabled community. Some people may see the month as a time to celebrate their success and accomplishments, whereas others may celebrate the feeling of pride about being disabled.
Ableism is a huge problem around the world and has created a stigma against disabled people and results in barriers to everyday life.
Disability Pride Month starts conversations and raises awareness among people who are not part of the disabled community on how to be better allies and what they can do in support.
There are many ways to celebrate Disability Pride Month in the workplace. Here are a few suggestions to get you started for Disability Pride Month:
- Ask your Disability Network/ERG what they would like to do to celebrate the month and include them in the planning process.
- Raise awareness and start conversations within your firm or organisation about disability. Disability Pride Month can be the perfect opportunity to educate as well as celebrate and share some interesting stories or podcasts to get the conversation started.
- Host and/or attend webinars to broaden your knowledge and support your disabled colleagues.
- Provide Training for your employees and managers as part of your ED&I Training Programme. Consider running some workshops and training on disability inclusion, different types of disabilities, reasonable adjustments and more.
