UK Disability History Month 

What is UK Disability History Month?

UK Disability History Month is an annual event to raise awareness about disabled people’s fight for equality and human rights. It is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made for disability rights and to act on what we can do to support disability equality in the present. For example, workplaces can host webinars on disability history and reflect on what they can do to improve their policies to promote disability inclusion.

When is UK Disability History Month?

UK Disability History Month has historically taken place on 22 November until 22 December, but in 2023 it will take place from 16 November to 16 December.

A motion making UK Disability History Month an official awareness event was passed in the UK Parliament on 10 November 2010, signed by 79 MPs. Read the motion below:

“That this House welcomes the first ever Disability History Month that recognises the history of the struggle for equality and human rights; notes that in running from 22 November until 22 December 2010 it will cover International HIV/AIDS Day, International Day of People with Disabilities and International Human Rights Day; calls on schools, colleges, universities, local authorities, employers, the public and the media to recognise and celebrate the first UK Disability History Month; encourages them to campaign to improve the unequal position of disabled people in society and work with disability charities and trade unions in the struggle for equality and inclusion; urges the Government to ensure that its policies and latest spending cuts are properly assessed in terms of their impact on people with disabilities so that they do not exacerbate existing inequalities; and looks forward to this month and future years of Disability History Month success.”

You can read the motion on the UK Parliament website.

Why is there a UK Disability History Month?

While progress has been made with the employment rate for disabled people in the UK, a government report showed that the disability employment rate was 52.6% in July to September 2022, compared to 82.5% for non-disabled people.

The statistics show that there are still barriers to equal employment opportunities for disabled people, especially those with learning disabilities, mental health conditions and autism. A UK Survey also showed disabled people were twice as likely as other employees to have experienced unfair treatment at work, including discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment.

By using UK Disability History Month as an opportunity to raise awareness about disability history, disabled people’s contributions to the UK and take action to support disability inclusion, Inclusive employers can take action to improve the employment rate for disabled people and make the workplaces more inclusive.

UK Disability History Month facts you should know

Here are a few quick UK Disability History Month facts to know:

• UK Disability History Month uses the Social Model to talk about disability and how we can make workplaces and society in general more inclusive.
• UK Disability History Month started in 2010, after a motion was made at UK Parliament to recognise the month. The motion was signed by 79 MPs.
• UK Disability History Month’s 2023 theme is Disability, Children and Youth. Employers could use this theme to focus on how they can support disabled youth into employment.
• If you are interested in past UK Disability History Month themes, you can find them on the event’s website.

How to celebrate UK Disability History Month in the workplace

There are numerous ways to commemorate UK Disability History Month at work, including:

• Hosting disability inclusion training at your organisation.
• Reading our disability blogs to learn more about the experiences of disabled colleagues.
• Downloading our Disability Guide series for advice on how to make the workplace more disability inclusive, Inclusive Employers members can download the resource for free.
• Listening to and sharing our podcasts about disability inclusion with your colleagues, we have episodes on Disability in the Workplace and Neurodiversity.
• Hosting discussions about UK Disability History Month with the bitesize inclusion toolkit.
• Following the UK Disability History Month account on Twitter/X and Facebook. You can also use the hashtag #UKDHM on social media posts celebrating the month.

If you’re a member and need more support with celebrating UK Disability History Month, contact your account manager. If you’re not yet a member, get in touch today to see how we can help.