Joyce A. Bender Testifies at EEOC Meeting

Posted: June 30, 2006

Joyce A. Bender, President and CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and member of the Epilepsy Foundation Board of Directors, spoke at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission meeting on Wednesday, June 28, 2006, at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. EEOC Commissioner Christine Griffin had invited Bender to participate in the panel.

Bender was part of a panel discussion to present testimony to the Commission about the employment of people with disabilities in the Federal government. Panelists offered advice based on their expertise in increasing the employment of people with disabilities within the Federal government.

She began by thanking the Commission for the opportunity to participate, adding: "I thank you for giving me, a woman with epilepsy and a hearing-loss, an opportunity to speak on behalf of my fellow Americans who are being left out of the American dream – economic freedom." Bender continued, discussing how attitudinal barriers keep people with disabilities from truly participating in the employment arena, even sixteen years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Bender called upon government to lead the way in employing and promoting talented and qualified people with disabilities, showing the private sector the value of adding this sector to their workforce. She discussed how she had built her company, Bender Consulting Services, into a highly successful organization with offices in 14 states and two Canadian provinces. Bender Consulting partners with other businesses to place people with significant disabilities in meaningful jobs.

Bender discussed how her initial attempts to work with the federal government met with positive words, but no positive conclusion, until a successful opportunity with the National Security Agency. She quoted former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, who at the 3^rd Annual Tony Coelho Lecture Series asked why, "[i]f the National Security Agency can commit to hiring people with disabilities, why can't every employer in the nation do the same?"

A multi-pronged approach would include commitment from key leadership, targeted positions for people with significant disabilities at every Federal agency, a willingness to hire at entry level, adding employment of people with disabilities to ongoing diversity initiatives and instituting mentoring programs to ensure success and promotability.

Bender called on each federal agency to make a stand to make significant strides in the employment of people with disabilities, in order to achieve the true promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She closed, "Americans with disabilities have great ability and opportunity, if you will finally break down those attitudinal walls."