Disability as an enabler of career success and inclusion1

Prior research regarding the career successcareer success of people with disabilities has made significant contributions to our understanding of barriers to inclusion. However, we find near silence on the subject of disability as an enabler of positive outcomes for both individuals and society more broadly. Drawing upon the affirmative model of disability, we suggest how the experience of disability can benefit career success and inclusion. The findings, based on interviews with 21 people with disabilities in Canada, suggest that disability can serve as ability (e.g., when the very impairment makes one the best suited for a task) and leads to inclusive organizational practices (e.g., by fostering opportunities for the busting of ability stereotypes). Taken together, the findings not only allow us to theorize disability as an enabler of career success under certain circumstances. We also offer practicable suggestions for policymakers to promote the right to inclusion and the career success of people with disabilities. In combination with medical and social perspectives on disability, the affirmative perspective that we explore here provides a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between disability policy, inclusion, and career success.