You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D is the Ontario Disability Employment Network’s podcast, launched in 2020.
Our show season runs from April to November.
Each episode we bring you insightful conversations with expert guests that explore from all the angles, the power of disability inclusion in business…in employment…in education…and in our communities…and why disability is an important part of the diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility conversation.
Curious about how we came up with that name? The diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) business conversation still too often focuses on gender and ethnicity only. Disability is left out or is an afterthought. We believe that you can’t really have inclusion without including disability in the conversation. Hence, You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D.
The podcast is co-hosted by Amy Widdows, ODEN’s new CEO, and Dean Askin, our Communications Strategist. Amy stepped in as the new co-host starting in 2025, with Season 6.
Jeannette Campbell, ODEN’s previous CEO, co-hosted the podcast for five seasons (Episodes 1 to 30).
You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D is hosted on Podbean, and available wherever you download your favourite podcasts.
Executive Producer/Co-Host — Amy Widdows
Executive Producer/Co-Host (Seasons 1 to 5, Episodes 1 to 30) — Jeannette Campbell
Producer — Sue Dafoe
Associate Producer/Co-Host — Dean Askin
Audio Production — Dean Askin
In the first episode of our seventh season, we’re kicking things off on a “touristy” note, with a conversation about making tourism in Canada — and globally — more accessible. Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the Canadian economy. And the global one. In Canada, it directly employs more than 700,000 people….
In our season six closer episode, we’re delving into the intersection of Disability and poverty. Both are on the rise in Canada. The Canadian 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability showed, 27% of Canadians 15 and older have at least one disability. That’s eight million people. And that’s up 5% from the previous survey in 2017….
Again this year, we’re delving into disability and intersectionality to close out the show for our 2025 season. It’s a broad topic — there are many directions to approach it from. In part one of our two-part season ending series, we’re exploring the intersection of disability, Blackness and gender. It’s a convergence that makes for…
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Or NDEAM, as it’s known for short. This month across Canada, NDEAM campaigns are focusing on raising awareness about disability-inclusive hiring…disability inclusion throughout the employment cycle…breaking down barriers to employment for people who have a disability…and creating a disability-inclusive workplace and culture. So every season, we like to…
September is back-to-school time for students at all levels…elementary school, middle school…and college and and university students. It’s a good time to talk about supporting youth who have a disability so they can transition to employment from high school or post-secondary education. Research shows that young people who have a disability…have a better chance of…
Research shows, only 21% of business leaders put a priority on creating an inclusive culture in the organizations they lead. And they’re not exactly in tune with whether employees really feel safe in their work environment. A 2020 study by Accenture found, 84% of executives believe employees feel safe disclosing a disability. But the reality…
Sean Towgood is the creator, star, writer and co-executive producer of You’re My Hero. If you’re not familiar with You’re My Hero, it’s a six-part CBC Gem comedy series about Ian Fletcher. The main character created and played by Sean Towgood. Ian is an angsty 20-something wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, dealing with the pressures…
It’s definitely no secret — there’s a general labour shortage in Canada that’s going to last until about 2030. It’s affecting just about every sector. Perhaps none more than the health care sector. There’s a labour crisis in the sector that’s affecting — among other things in hospitals, wait times in emergency rooms; and often…
In 2024, tourism was the fifth-largest industry in the world by revenue, and the largest industry globally by employment. Here in Canada, tourism contributes $102 billion to the economy, and generates over 745,000 jobs in communities across the country. A tourism industry report noted, more often than not, it’s in the front-line jobs where people…
In the Province of Ontario, Canada, the twentieth anniversary of legislation that was supposed to make the province fully accessible by 2025 came and went in January with Ontario being nowhere near fully accessible for people who have a disability. Over in France, with disability groups protesting in Paris on the eve of the twentieth…
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