Becky chose to get involved with Hollywood not because she wanted to be famous, but because she understood that what people see in the media has a major influence on their societal perceptions in general. When it comes to diversity related topics, especially individuals with disabilities, it can spark fear, curiosity, or respect depending on how those individuals are portrayed. 

Think about RJ Mitte and his portrayal as Walt Jr. in the insanely popular show Breaking Bad. His character on the show was written to have cerebral palsy, and Mitte has cerebral palsy in real life. But that wasn’t what the show was about: it was who his character was, who Mitte is, and it became a dimension of life shown through a Hollywood lens viewers grew comfortable with. That’s power over perception.

However, despite the progress that she herself has helped achieve in the entertainment industry, Becky thought there wasn’t enough forward momentum. She still saw people with disabilities turned away from roles that portrayed people with disabilities. Understandably, it was frustrating. 

“About 3% of roles in Hollywood portrayed disability, meaning the description of the character has a disability. But of the 3%, 85% are played by those without disabilities. So it's like more than three-fourths of the characters that exist that say disability are still portrayed by those without. We've made progress but we’ve got a ways to go.”

She realized that the real change in Hollywood would have to come from higher up at major entertainment media companies. And even if Hollywood changed, there were still plenty of other corporations in the world that needed help meaningfully including people with disabilities in their workplaces. That’s one of the main reasons Becky switched gears and got involved with Disability:IN. 

She manages a tool at Disability:IN called the Disability Equality Index (DEI), which is a benchmarking asset designed to help companies consider disabilities in every part of their work stream. That includes outward facing clients from a digital accessibility standpoint as well as internal employees with benefits, recruitment strategies, accommodations, and promotions.

“So many employers are saying, ‘We want to hire more people with disabilities. We just don't know how.’ We’ve been able to do research that proves that companies that are disability-inclusive are doing better financially. And those companies who do engage with the Disability Equality Index...are more motivated to hire more people with disabilities.”

Disability:IN also hosts a mentorship program, Next Gen Leaders, for students with disabilities in the STEM, finance, or business fields. After they complete the program, they’re hired by one of the nonprofit’s Fortune 1000 corporate partners who are all eager to make a real, tangible impact for people with disabilities in the corporate, working world. 

The next big hurdle for Becky and Disability:IN is to help show companies that this is an area that they need to be focused on. Typically, companies want to focus on people of color, women, and LGBT before they start any efforts around disability-inclusion. But it’s something that should be considered right alongside other diversity initiatives from step one. 

“Every organization, every human being, is impacted by disability in one way or another. One in three American households, and at least one person in someone's life, has some type of disability.”

Becky told Hollywood, she tells major corporations every day, and she’s telling us here on the Cause & Purpose podcast right now: you just need to acknowledge that you’re willing to be inclusive. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to blaze a trail that others can follow.

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