Advancing the Workplace

Opening up employment in the technology sector to people with disabilities is the topic of an Oct. 26-27 forum led by the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, part of the ILR School.

“Technology Changes Everything: Innovating to Include People of All Abilities in a More Diverse Workforce" will be held Thursday and Friday at Baruch College in New York City. Registration is free and open to the public.

Speakers from technology companies, nonprofits, the disability community, government, academia, as well as entrepreneurs, will discuss efforts such as promoting tech sector employment and training.

They will also address entrepreneurship opportunities among people who have disabilities, making technology more accessible and developing more online tools to recruit employees with disabilities.

“We view this as an example of “radical collaboration” across Cornell,” said Susanne Bruyère, director of the Yang-Tan Institute. Cornell co-sponsors are Cornell Tech, Computer and Information Sciences, Entrepreneurship at Cornell and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.

Sponsors also include ILR’s Pierce Memorial Fund, the Hamershlag Sulzberger Borg Group Inc., an investment banking firm, and By-the-Lee Adaptive Sailing.

The event is focused on improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities in the tech sector, as well as promoting inclusive design enabling people of all abilities to access web-based products and services, and tech-intensive workplaces.

The forum is aimed at technology companies, financial and professional services firms, policymakers, educators and workforce development professionals, Bruyère said.

For forum agenda and registration, go to http://www.yti.cornell.edu/technology.

Follow the forum on Twitter and Facebook at #Tech4Inclusion.