What is ‘Disability Washing’- and could your company be guilty of it?

In recent years, more and more organisations have come to recognise the importance of being socially and sustainably responsible. This is largely down to the simple fact that consumers expect their companies to act responsibly and are prepared to switch brands if they don’t!

As a result, some businesses are making hasty, knee-jerk reactions which often lead to superficial and inauthentic measures, just to appear more socially and morally responsible - a practice now known as ‘washing’.

You may well already be aware of the most common kind of washing- ‘green washing’- where companies make false claims of being environmentally friendly. A good example of this is when Volkswagen was caught in a scandal after using software that allowed it to cheat on emissions tests. (An act that ended up costing the company almost $35 billion).

Sadly, superficial and deceptive efforts to appear responsible and enhance reputations take many forms, hence the introduction of many different types of ‘washing’. For example, there’s pink or rainbow washing for superficial support of the LGBTQ+ community, blue washing for human rights issues, and, most recently, AI washing, in which organisations make inaccurate, overinflated claims about their use of AI.

There is also, of course, ‘Purple Washing’ or disability washing, which takes place when an organisation tries to meet benchmarks and tick all the relevant boxes, and, in doing so, looks accessible and inclusive, but fails when it comes to the practicality of inclusive service and employment.

So, how do businesses ‘disability wash’?

Disability washing occurs in various forms and can be carried out by companies of all sizes, though it is most often seen in larger organisations. In many cases, companies can be entirely unaware of their actions.

That may sound hard to imagine, but here are a few examples of how accompanies could be washing, unintentionally.

An organisation chooses to feature people with disabilities in all of their external, large-scale promotional and advertising campaigns and has strong representation in all images on their social media, yet the workplaces they provide are actually inaccessible in many ways. In reality, the company may offer very few opportunities for people with disabilities in the workplace, despite the public portrayal of being an inclusive employer.

Another example might be a company that gains benchmarks such as Disability Confident or secures a place on The Valuable 500, but in reality, it often fails to maintain other aspects of inclusion by neglecting to educate all staff across all customer-facing roles. As a result, the service it provides often leads to customers and staff having a poor experience with the company and its services.  

We have previously reported and commented for publications on many cases like this - for example, Sainsburys (Disability Confident Leader (level 3) and Valuable 500), Barclays, Disability Confident Leader and Valuable 500 founding member, Greggs (Disability Confident members and Valuable 500 members), … the list goes on.

There are many, many more examples of disability washing, but it is essentially when a company prioritises public perception of inclusion, focusing on the benefits of appearance and compliance. In reality, genuine, meaningful change should come from focusing on the experiences of staff and customers with disabilities.

The negatives

Unfortunately, there are many downsides to disability washing. First of all, it damages trust, your reputation, and your services, both as a service provider and as an employer. People with disabilities are often loyal to organisations that support their needs, both as staff and as customers, and will also soon see through inauthentic corporate messaging, so washing can have a very detrimental impact on how you are perceived as a brand and employer.

Most importantly, ticking inclusion boxes and making half-hearted or superficial attempts at change can actually hamper any real progress. Why? Because people seeing inclusion from the outside can mistakenly think progress is actually being made and therefore it is a ‘problem solved’, when in reality, the truth is far from it.

Signs you could be disability washing

In many cases, are completely unaware that they are disability washing. Here are a few signs you should be aware of that may indicate that you are:

1. You consider yourself an inclusive employer, yet:
   

• Not all staff are educated in understanding disability (through regular training and onboarding education).
• Staff involved in interviewing and recruitment are not specifically trained to be aware of unconscious bias and general disability awareness and etiquette
• There are delays, issues, and complicated processes for the application of reasonable adjustments.
• Line managers and senior staff do not have extensive training specifically around managing staff with disabilities
• Very few applicants with disabilities apply for roles with your organisation
• You have a proportionately low number of staff with disabilities (or this number is unmonitored)
• Your retention rate for people with disabilities is poor (or again, unmonitored)
• Job descriptions are not available in inclusive formats, and the terms, language used on these pay no real regard to accessibility.

2. You claim you have an accessible culture and space, yet:
   

• Your physical environment has never been audited
• Your events fail to take accessibility into account
• Senior staff have no presence or participation in meetings related to inclusive culture development
• Sizeable disability pay gaps exist within the organisation (or are again unmonitored)
• Certain physical spaces remain difficult to access and navigate
• People with disabilities are seldom promoted/trained- or this information is unmonitored

3. Disability equality is celebrated across the company yet:

• There are very few (or no) people with disabilities in decision-making or senior positions
• You do not have an ERG (Employee Resource Group), that steers and provides a voice for disability within the organisation
• You have little (or no) people with disabilities willing to step forward as representatives or case studies to exemplify how someone with a disability can progress within the organisation, through the support and adjustments available.
• You do not regularly check in and anonymously survey staff to assess inclusion within the organisation

4. Your marketing/social media/ advertising campaigns use images of people with disabilities yet:
   

• People with disabilities have expressed difficulties when accessing your products/services/environments and so on.
• Your website has never been properly audited and has very few accessibility features
• Not all of your external materials are available in multiple accessible formats
• Your social media doesn’t always consider font, Alt text, colour contrast, embedded text in images and so on.

So, to summarise, reaching benchmarks that demonstrate a dedication to inclusion, and celebrating disability are achievements to be proud of. However, not following it up with a strong development strategy, or with monitoring and surveying of staff, and failing to properly understand recruitment, physical access, staff training and development, etc., can be misleading. It can impact how inclusion and its progress are perceived, cause a lack of trust, reduce staff confidence, ruin your reputation and damage the perception of your services, and affect staff retention- all of which can impact your bottom line.

So, remember, one in every four of your staff members and customers has a disability, and so you should focus on making meaningful change for them. Don’t treat inclusion as a compliance exercise or a simple box to tick. Real value comes from making meaningful, measurable change that genuinely improves the experience of staff and customers.