The McGill Equity Team is undertaking a consultation series to strengthen and promote inclusion of students, faculty and staff with disabilities. The three stakeholder sessions and town hall event will involve discussion of the McGill Accessibility Strategy (MAS) and its implementation.
While the MAS is part of the larger McGill 2020-2025 EDI Strategic Plan, it presents a distinct strategy to advance McGill’s work on accessibility and ableism.
“Disabled students, faculty, and staff face real barriers and ongoing ableism. These consultations are a chance to address those barriers head-on and create a campus that works for everyone,” said Catherine Roy, Accessibility Advisor. “We’re focused on making change that opens up new opportunities for our whole community.”
Discussions around accessibility have been underway for years, notably since 2022 with the creation of a working group of students, faculty, and staff members. They heard from community members on various types of barriers to inclusion which they categorized in the same way as the larger Strategic EDI Plan:
- Student Experience
- Research and Knowledge
- Outreach
- Workforce
- Space
“Our goal was to provide the larger community with a basis from which to better understand and help address systemic ableism. We looked for pathways for the full inclusion of disabled students, staff, and faculty at McGill,” said Tynan Jarrett, Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Accessibility in the workplace and in research settings
Observations captured in the MAS draft detail both issues and potential solutions that McGill can implement. For example, in the “Workforce” area, employees told committee members about the problems that stem from underrepresentation of academic and administrative and support staff with disabilities, ranging from misunderstanding to perceived stigmatization. Many employees also shared concerns about limited knowledge of accommodations or one-size-fits-all approaches that can feel dehumanizing or confrontational.
Improving the experience of employees with disabilities at McGill will require a commitment to increasing the representation, supporting the retention of faculty and staff with disabilities, fostering disability pride, better fulfilling accommodation obligations, and developing and implementing a policy on service animals in working spaces.
In the area of “Research and Knowledge,” the committee also heard about underrepresentation, notably of disabled researchers. Proposed solutions include more support, including through the creation of networks of peers with disabilities, but also fostering research on disabilities to advance knowledge more broadly.
Areas of note for students
According to the 2023 Report on the Biennial Results of the McGill Student Census, 8.8% of McGill students identify as persons with disabilities. Invisible disabilities, such as mental health, ADHD, and learning disabilities were by far the most reported. It is, therefore, no surprise that the MAS section on “Student Experience” is fairly broad, mentioning everything from ableist microaggressions, to the lack of a disabled McGill community, to courses that lack principles of universal design. Solutions proposed include a comprehensive review of accommodations processes, more training and professional development for faculty and staff, and a Student Affairs Liaison for students with disabilities – including for graduate students.
“It is crucial for the University to understand and address the accessibility barriers faced by graduate students, as these challenges may not be fully resolved through in-course accommodations alone,” said Aditya Nemana, the accessibility commissioner for the McGill Post-Graduate Student’s Society (PGSS).
“Appointing student liaisons from both undergraduate and graduate programs will help bridge these understanding gaps.”
The path forward
Part of the new series of consultations is to review the proposed commitments in the MAS but also to refine metrics and measures, seeking to ensure accountability is embedded into the process over a five-year term. Those interested in attending are encouraged to review the document first, though all community members are invited to read it so that they can better understand the experiences of their peers and colleagues with disabilities.
“These consultation sessions are a critical channel for members of the McGill community to share their questions, concerns, and hopes for the future of this University”, said Shanice Yarde, Associate Director, Anti-Racism and Equity Education, who is facilitating the October sessions.
“For too long the experiences of people with disabilities have been overlooked in academia, including at McGill. That is exacerbated when you factor in those who are also BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour), women, queer, and otherwise marginalized. Consultation is an important step in the process towards impactful and necessary change and we invite all community members to be a part of it.
All the upcoming session are on-line and open to registration by all members of the McGill community.