The Original Hackers — Disability Lead on the Leadership Pipeline Nobody Is Building

Most companies treat accessibility like a compliance checkbox. A ramp here, an updated HR policy there. Disability Lead has spent years watching what happens when companies think they're done — and what they're missing is almost always the same thing: they never thought about who gets to lead.Emily Blum and Clare Killy are the CEO and Director of Programs at Disability Lead, a Chicago-based nonprofit that develops and connects leaders with disabilities to civic and professional opportunities. The stat that stops the conversation: only 3% of C-suite leaders identify as having a disability. Not because the talent isn't there — because the pipeline was never designed to move them through. Disabled people are, by necessity, some of the most sophisticated problem solvers in any organization. They've spent their entire lives creating access and solutions in a world that wasn't built for them. That skill doesn't disappear when they walk into your company. It gets underused, or it walks out the door.This conversation gets into what a genuinely welcoming organization actually looks like before a candidate ever applies, why the "we're pretty inclusive, I think we're good" response usually signals the opposite, and what it costs a company — in retention, in problem solving, in culture — to keep building leadership pipelines from the same pool.If this is the conversation you've been needing to have, start here. thinkvoen.comMore from Disability Leaddisabilitylead.org→ Virtual public events each take place a few times a yearDisability Power Series: featuring disabled thought leaders from across the countryOur Stories: a curated storytelling hour featuring stories of lived experience from our Members -- free, virtual, and anyone can register SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SUBSTACK MAILING LIST:https://substack.com/@thestartlisteningpodcastThis episode was produced by Cat Fincun and VOEN Consulting. It was edited by Angelina Gurrola.