March 1 of every year, people around the world recognize Zero Discrimination Day and I bet most of you, like myself, do not even know this special day exists. My first thought when I saw this is a special day to celebrate is, “Why?” Why in 2023 do we still have to be told not to discriminate against people and who thought we needed this day?
According to UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on Hiv and Aids), Michel Sidibe, Executive Director, introduced the idea in February of 2014 and Zero Discrimination Day was first celebrated in March of 2014. The original idea actually centered around ending discrimination towards people with Hiv and/or Aids but has grown in scope over the years to include any group of people who have been discriminated against including individuals with disabilities.
At CORE our goal is to train our participants to work in quality jobs where they are sometimes seen as unemployable by other employers. The Oxford dictionary defines discrimination as “The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of ethnicity, age, sex, or disability.” Some of our participants face this type of treatment on a regular basis which is why places like CORE are essential in helping to fight discrimination; so YES, Zero Discrimination Day is needed and will be needed until people are hired because of the skills they have. Period.
It is imperative we all continue to fight against discrimination wherever we see it whether it is for people of a different color than us, who praise a God different than ours, who look different than us, or who even think different from us. In the workforce we not only need employers who do not practice discrimination but employers who ensure their employees are free from harassment or discrimination by others on the job. John Lewis, a civil rights leader and politician from Georgia said, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” However, I am asking you not to wait for March 1 every year to celebrate Zero Discrimination Day. Start today and every day.
If you know someone who faces job discrimination because of disabilities, we can help. At CORE we can help individuals with disabilities through our job training program to find the employment they want and employers who will hire them and not discriminate against their disability. And the best news, we do this everyday, not just on March 1.
