What If Disability Rights Led Innovation First

“Inclusive” is one of those words everyone loves to say and almost nobody builds all the way through. We sit down with Jamie Cooke, Executive Director of Inclusion International, to get practical about what inclusion really takes for people with intellectual disabilities and their families across more than 100 countries, from local realities to global advocacy at the United Nations. Along the way, we unpack the tension many of us feel inside the disability community: when we splinter into smaller camps, we risk weakening our ability to win the changes that actually make life better. 

We also tackle the unavoidable topic of artificial intelligence and accessibility. AI can help simplify complex text, extract meaning, and turn dense documents into usable information, which can open doors in education, civic life, and work. But Jamie names the risks clearly: machine learning systems inherit bias from incomplete data, and disability organisations often lack the capacity, skills, and resources to shape how these tools are built and deployed. If we do not build that capability now, “innovation” can quietly scale exclusion instead of access. 

From there, we go straight to disability inclusion in the workplace and what corporations need from us beyond a moral argument. We talk about long-term partnerships, building rewarding careers instead of token jobs, and why disability organisations must “walk the talk” by modelling inclusive hiring and leadership development internally. We end on what it will take to avoid tokenism while still building a credible pipeline of next-generation leaders, plus why better disability data is essential for real accountability. Subscribe, share this conversation, and leave a review so more people can find it and push inclusion forward.

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