UN Pride Month: Inclusivity or lack thereof?

July was a month of pride for people with disabilities. Let's remember what the situation is like in the community, not just in the labor market.

Pride Month is a time for the community of People with Disabilities, in which they emphasize their identity independence, not defined only by a given disability, and the whole spectrum of what each of us experiences in life. This is an important point of reference - the UN speaks of itself through the lens of various stories, teaching us awareness, tolerance and diversity. Their story is first and foremost their own and tells not only about social exclusion. Pride Month allows the UN to express itself in a variety of ways, it shows that these people do not feel inferior, victims, but also not heroes. First of all, they make us aware that their disability is seen in the context of restriction mainly by able-bodied people. At the same time, they point out that what actually causes their exclusion is social taboos and, above all, the lack of systemic solutions and the negligence of politicians.

OzN Community History

Pride time is not only about emotional issues and celebration as well as an international movement. In Poland, the law referring to the UN is a reference to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2006 (ratified in Poland in 2012). The international movement itself had its beginning in 1990 in the United States, when the ADA Act was passed (Americans with Disabilities Act) against discrimination. This law was a consequence of a long struggle for rights, the initiators of which were not only people with disabilities themselves, but also their caregivers (the beginnings of pressure began in the 1960s). The first Pride Day for Persons with Disabilities after the law was passed was the one in Boston, today it is celebrated on December 3.

The history of the UN has not been easy, as we can see by looking back. We often associate it with lack of care and systemic neglect and, above all, exclusion and stigmatization. And in fact, history is full of such experiences. Interestingly, the topic of disability is not only dealt with by fields of science such as medicine or sociology, as well as archeology. Dr. Magdalena Matczak from the University of Liverpool and Arizona State University, together with scientists from Poland and abroad, leads a project called DIS-abled, which explores, through archaeology, the history of the United Nations. The aim of the study is to reconstruct the life of people with disabilities in 14th-18th century Central Europe, which may be an important starting point in thinking about the social changes that have occurred since then.

The research by the scientists of the DIS-abled project is a surprising discovery. One is that Neanderthals probably had to use some kind of OZn care systems in their communities. This was found after the discovery of the skeleton of a man who had a skull injury and several other impairments that made it impossible to function. Still, he lived to be, roughly, 40-50 years old, which was a surprisingly long age - so he probably had to use the help of others. Another example is the remains of a Bahraini woman (from the turn of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC) whose right humerus was deformed and struggled with lower limb impairment. However, she was buried with many valuable items, which may indicate that her family and loved ones had care and respect for her. Unfortunately, the history of the UN is in many cases still a story of abuse, exclusion and stigmatization. Such is also the case of the 19th century, where people with disabilities, that is, those who were often unable to work or worked to a limited extent (and the 19th century was a time of the heyday of capitalism and the cult of work) were sent to asylums. Another monstrous tradition of the time was the use of disability to do shows in carrier-based circuses. It is also worth remembering that the word “disability” is a relatively new concept, because it came into circulation in the 20th century. Hence the difficulty in studying the socio-class situation of the OZn in other centuries.

Important moments

There are many symbolic but also practical moments that mean a lot to the OZn community and make them more visible in the world. Here are a few of them:

Establishment of the International Paralympic Committee (1989) - People with disabilities got their own sports structure on a par with the Olympic movement.
Passage of the ADA in the USA (1990) - A landmark law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities (resulting in mandatory driveways, elevators, accessibility of websites, education and employment)
Adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) - Guarantee of full participation in social life, education, work and culture.
The origins of the Independent Living movement (USA, 1970s) - The idea of “Nothing about us without us” - “Nothing about us without us”, that is, people with disabilities should decide their own lives, not be “dependent care”.

Activities for people with disabilities

In Poland, Duma Month was included from the Office of the Ombudsman, as a symbol of the commitment to fight for the rights of the UN, which they are entitled to and are not always respected. The Ombudsman himself is engaged in activities such as giving opinions on the replacement of institutions of incapacity with instruments of assisted decision-making, running the campaign “Elections available to all”, renewing calls for ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, repeatedly pointing out the need for systemic regulation of personal assistance services, interventions to provide access to gynaecological care for women with disabilities and supported housing, and also the implementation of workshops on the right to accessibility.

On 2 July 2025, the Conference “Dignity and Pride of Persons with Disabilities” was held in the Office of the Ombudsman, which became a space to discuss identity, self-determination and the role of persons with disabilities in shaping a just society. The conference was translated into Polish sign language, transcribed live and broadcast online.

Unfortunately, there is still no law on personal assistance in Poland. Although the draft has already been prepared and submitted to the Sejm, it has still not been formally submitted or submitted to the legislative procedure. During a press conference in the Sejm, MPs from Poland 2050 and the Left strongly admonished the systemic law on personal assistance, stressing that this is not a privilege, but a right and the foundation of independence of people with disabilities. The statements of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, suggesting a lack of funds for this purpose, caused opposition and deep concern, both among politicians and representatives of social organizations. The MPs reminded that the finished bill has been in the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for many months, and the delay in the legislation is not only a loss of hope, but also of life - which is how MP Bożenna Hołownia put it, recalling the statements of guardians in an extremely difficult situation. Personal assistance has been unequivocally called not a social expense, but an investment in the dignity, independence and security of hundreds of thousands of people and their families.

Inequality and the labour market

Today, people with disabilities are an important part of society, both globally and nationally. In the world, one in eight people is recognized as having a disability, and in the European Union it is about 14% of the population of working age (15-64 years). In Poland, according to the data of the Central Statistical Office from the National Census 2021, the number of people with disabilities was 5.4 million, which corresponded to 14.3% of the total population. In 2023, more than 4 million people had a formal certificate of disability or incapacity for work, but the actual number could reach up to 7 million - not every person decides to obtain a certificate. Less than half a million people with disabilities (477.4 thousand) found employment in the national economy, which shows significant potential, but also existing barriers on the labor market. As Dr. Magdalena Matczak points out, the presence of people with disabilities in society is not a new phenomenon - their participation was noticeable even in historical and prehistoric times, although due to the weaker development of medicine they could represent an even larger percentage of the community.

The situation of people with disabilities in the labor market is influenced by many factors - from the mismatch of working conditions to individual opportunities, through the limited availability of flexible forms of employment, to discrimination, which we wrote about in a separate article OzN on the labor market. The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the EU institutions have been developing legal standards and recommendations to counter these barriers for years. They underline the need to ensure equal pay, the availability of jobs and the active participation of people with disabilities in the development of policies that affect them. As EESC president Oliver Röpke pointed out, the employment gap remains a serious problem across Europe and true inclusion requires a strong commitment from policy makers and social partners.

Examples of good practice from other countries

Samhall is a state-owned enterprise in Sweden that employs people with disabilities, offering them training and stable working conditions, mainly in the service sector. The aim is to improve social inclusion and increase employment opportunities in the open market. However, research shows that despite the experience gained in Samhall, people with disabilities still face discrimination. In the experiment, 768 fictitious candidates for the positions of cleaners sent applications with information about working in Samhall, and people with such experience received fewer positive responses (28%) than candidates without it (34%). Discrimination was particularly evident among men with disabilities.The Samhall model provides valuable support, but it also shows that the programme itself does not eliminate all barriers in the labour market and requires additional anti-discrimination measures. Another example is Specialisterne - This Danish innovative entrepreneur employs people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and related profiles, especially in tasks that require precision and concentration, such as software testing, data conversion or logistics. It operates in more than 13 countries and its method shows that diversity can be a competitive advantage

Disability is also addressed by the International Labour Organization. The ILO promotes the implementation of ESG-compliant policies, including reporting of employment rates of people with disabilities, co-creation of policies (Self‑ID and employee resource groups), as well as the use of self-assessment tools for companies in the field of inclusion.

summary

Any action that brings us closer to systemic change for the UN is a step towards a stronger, more inclusive and diverse society, in which disability does not entail a lack of solutions and opportunities or social exclusion. Actions at both the legal and political level as well as at the symbolic level are important.

#inkluzywność #różnorodność #OZN #niepełnosprawność #rynek jobs

Sources

UN Pride Month: Inclusivity or lack thereof?

Other stories

UN Goal: Less Inequality

Feminist economics

UN Goal: Innovation, Industry, Infrastructure

Mothers at work

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