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
The newcomer community in Canada is huge. In 2022, the country welcomed 431,645 new permanent residents — the largest number in one year — in Canadian history. The last time Canada welcomed that many newcomers was over a century ago, in 1913. There was a time when almost all immigrants to Canada came from Europe….
You can’t explore intersectionality without talking about disability among Canada’s Aboriginal people — the Inuit and First Nations. An estimated 30% of Canada’s Indigenous population, or 420,000 people, live with a disability or functional limitation. So just what is the perception and definition of disability in the Inuit and First Nation cultures and communities? How…
The World Health Organization points out that for people who have a disability, negative attitudes about disability is one of the most common barriers to participation and inclusion — in the broader community and society in general — that they face. But what about the intersection of disability, including attitudes and perceptions about it, with…
In North America, the disability inclusion conversation — the fight for equity — has been going on for over 50 years. In Canada — more specifically, in the province of Ontario — the name David C. Onley is synonymous with championing disability inclusion in employment, and accessibility. He was the first working television journalist in…
Advertising and disability. There’s a lot of both in North America. Eight per cent of the population in both the U.S. and Canada have a disability. In the U.S. that’s about 87 million people. In Canada, about eight million people. In the U.S., there’s an average of about eight minutes of television ads every hour…
There are over 1.2 million employer businesses in Canada. And almost 98% of them are small businesses, which employ about 5.7 million people. But surveys have shown that over half the small businesses in Canada have never hired someone who has a disability. They’ve never made the disability-inclusive hiring journey. In Episode 25 — the…
If you’ve ever looked for a stock photo portraying disability to use in a blog post or on a website page, you might find yourself thinking they all look the same; they all look contrived; and they don’t authentically portray disability in all its diversity. How disability is broadly viewed and perceived, can depend on…
In part two of our series on The State of Accessibility in Canada, we go from the bird’s-eye view to a closer look at accessibility — in branding, marketing, advertising and social media content created by businesses in Canada. This is an important conversation to have, because the accessibility of content for everyone can affect…
Accessibility is a single word that can have a lot of impact. Every day in Canada, indeed across North America and in countries around the world, many people — especially people who have a disability — face challenges in their daily lives because the built environment we all live in, generally isn’t all that accessible….
There are more than 200 universities, and more than 200 colleges and institutes in Canada. Certainly no lack of choice for young people looking to pursue post-secondary education. But there’s a problem on campuses across this country. It’s one affecting students, staff and faculty alike — a lack of accessibility and disability inclusion. Statistics show…
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