Diversity and Inclusion in the American Legal Profession: Workplace Accommodations for Lawyers with Disabilities and Lawyers Who Identify as LGBTQ.
Peter Blanck, Fitore Hyseni, Fatma Altunkol Wise
PMID 33219465WHAT IT FOUND
Lawyers with disabilities were more likely to request workplace accommodations but less likely to have them granted.
Multiple marginalized identities, such as being a disabled woman of color, further reduced the odds of receiving accommodations.
Key findings
01Lawyers with disabilities had higher odds of requesting accommodations compared to those without disabilities.
02Lawyers with disabilities had lower odds of having their accommodation requests granted compared to those without disabilities.
03Intersectional identities, such as being a disabled racial/ethnic minority or an older woman, were associated with lower probabilities of having accommodation requests granted.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study relies on self-reported data from an online survey, which cannot be verified. The sample was intentionally oversampled for disability and LGBTQ+ identities, so the proportions do not reflect the general legal profession. The study focuses on high-paid, white-collar workers, so findings may not generalize to lower-paid or physically demanding jobs. The sample size for certain intersectional groups, particularly transgender individuals and those with multiple minority identities, was small, limiting the ability to draw definitive conclusions about these specific subgroups. The survey did not distinguish between formal ADA accommodations and informal workplace adjustments.
Declared interests
Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that requesting an accommodation is the primary barrier for lawyers with disabilities. The study found that while they were more likely to request accommodations, they were less likely to have them granted compared to their non-disabled counterparts.