Resisting ableism in deliberately developmental organizations: A discursive analysis of the identity work of employees with disabilities

Abstract

People with disabilities, an understudied population in human resource development, are often constructed as deficient and unproductive in the workplace. Such a phenomenon can largely be attributed to ableism, which is intensified by the widespread organizational emphasis on productivity. With the recognition of people with disabilities as political agents, this study examined the discursive practices of employees with disabilities in Deliberately Developmental Organizations (DDOs). DDOs as a research site were purposefully selected given their commitment to employees' continuous learning, growth, and development distinct from productivity as the main organizing principle. The critical discourse analysis of seven employees with disabilities in DDOs revealed two ways in which the participants countered the negative stereotypes associated with them: (a) the participants resisted ableism by openly communicating the scope of their ability, and (b) the participants resisted ableism by stepping outside the category of people with disabilities. These two radical ways in which the participants challenged ableism by drawing upon the empowering discursive resources in DDOs did not have ableism's reproducing effects and therefore illuminates the potential of continuing to research DDOs as a promising alternative organizational space for inclusion. This study expands our

Roads to Success: The Career Attainment Experiences of Lawyers With Visual Impairments in South Korea

“…Second, HRD practitioners should work with organizational leaders to raise their awareness of the importance of disability inclusion and together strive to make success cases that can serve as role models for aspiring people with disabilities. Third, this study points to how the system change toward greater diversity and inclusion may benefit people with disabilities (Kwon, 2021;Kwon & Nicolaides, 2017). Especially, the participants in this study who went to domestic law schools demonstrated themselves as partial beneficiaries of such change in the South Korean legal education system.…”

Conceptualizing the Marginalization Experiences of People with Disabilities in Organizations Using an Ableism Lens

“…With few exceptions (Kwon, 2021; Procknow et al, 2017), the actual application of ableism in HRD literature at both conceptual and empirical has been sparse. Unlike the relatively richer development of research in HRD that theorizes and problematizes other hierarchical categories of social relations such as gender (Bierema, 2002; Callahan & Elliott, 2020), race (Byrd, 2007; Sisco, 2020), sexual orientation (Gedro & Tyler, 2014; Schmidt et al, 2012), disability has (ironically, due to its relational nature) long been out of attention in constructing shared understandings of what constitutes a legitimate organizational life.…”

Everyone is Invited: Leveraging Bystander Intervention and Ally Development to Cultivate Social Justice in the Workplace

“…There is evidence that such invitations can lead to significant organizational change in support of marginalized groups. For example, Kwon (2021) discussed how Deliberately Developmental Organizations can be leveraged to resist the able-ism often experienced by employees with disabilities. This is not to imply that members of marginalized communities must or should do extra work to educate those who occupy positions of power and privilege.…”