When I stepped into the interview room, I never imagined that my health condition would overshadow my qualifications. The silence that followed my disclosure was deafening, marking the start of my stark encounter with ableism in Norway's job market. On this episode, I share the often untold story of a society applauded for its inclusivity, yet one that quietly lets down its citizens with disabilities. Researcher Gagan Chhabra unravel the deep-seated biases that pervade even the most progressive of welfare states, and how these prejudices can stifle the dreams of competent individuals seeking fair employment.
With Chhabra's findings as our guide, we dissect the everyday hurdles that come with a disability, from the subtle to the blatantly discriminatory. We discuss the stark contrast between Norway's promising legislation and the real-life job experiences of young adults with visual impairments, a topic that parallels Chhabra's work in both Oslo and Delhi. This episode isn't just a confessional of personal struggles; it's a rallying cry to acknowledge our own biases and a proposition for a collective shift towards genuine inclusivity. Listen as we confront the uncomfortable truths and seek not only to atone for our own ignorance but also to ignite a broader conversation on valuing each person's potential.
When I stepped into the interview room, I never imagined that my health condition would overshadow my qualifications. The silence that followed my disclosure was deafening, marking the start of my stark encounter with ableism in Norway's job market. On this episode, I share the often untold story of a society applauded for its inclusivity, yet one that quietly lets down its citizens with disabilities. Researcher Gagan Chhabra unravel the deep-seated biases that pervade even the most progressive of welfare states, and how these prejudices can stifle the dreams of competent individuals seeking fair employment.
With Chhabra's findings as our guide, we dissect the everyday hurdles that come with a disability, from the subtle to the blatantly discriminatory. We discuss the stark contrast between Norway's promising legislation and the real-life job experiences of young adults with visual impairments, a topic that parallels Chhabra's work in both Oslo and Delhi. This episode isn't just a confessional of personal struggles; it's a rallying cry to acknowledge our own biases and a proposition for a collective shift towards genuine inclusivity. Listen as we confront the uncomfortable truths and seek not only to atone for our own ignorance but also to ignite a broader conversation on valuing each person's potential.
Dear listener, so far, so good. Thank you for being my follower. I really appreciate it. In today's podcast, I will tell you about an incident that made me see the dark side of my country. You see, wherever I travel in the world, people tend to be curious about my country.
Speaker 1:
Often, the conception about Norway is that we are all rich and we are all doing okay. There is no need to fight in the system. Since the system is human friendly, it must be close to paradise or what. To a certain point, I agree. The Scandinavian model Norway, sweden and Denmark provides all the citizens with basic human needs. The welfare system gives healthcare and education for everyone. I really love my country for that, and I wish that for other countries in the world as well. I find it unfair that some countries have a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and that is also why I have worked in humanitarian organizations for several years. In spite of this, there are some mistakes in our country too, and you also find people struggling and fighting in the system. I'm actually one of them.
Speaker 1:
I grew up knowing I won the lottery when I was born in Norway. In my childhood I didn't miss anything material. Our grandparents were the last generation that experienced poverty and war in our country. We, the lucky ones all the generations born after 1945, grew up in a safe welfare system. We have no reason to complain. We Norwegians Poor, little rich people what do we know about misery? Well, the welfare system is actually not paradise. It is a safety net. I worked in an organization that has projects in Nepal. In this country, you will find more people living in the streets than in Norway. You will also find structural problems based on poverty, problems such as child marriages, trafficking and lack of opportunities for young people with higher education. Compared to Norway, we have a safety net that makes sure that less people end up in poverty and just a few ones live on the streets. Child marriages will be punished and are against the law, and young people have tons of opportunities. Unless you have a disability, hidden or visible, then the opportunities are not as good.
Speaker 1:
I was 29 years old when I found out that my paradise country is not that perfect after all. After years of struggling with my health, I found myself in a job-seeking process. Before that, I had jobs as a freelancer, since there was no room for full-time jobs in my life All the years with bad health, both mentally and physically, had given me the right to treatment in the welfare system. I also gave birth to two children and studied during these years. I was also provided with social care so I could build myself up as a freelance writer and not just end up in misery. That is the glorious part of our country the welfare state that takes care of us all and I love it. But now I was about to face the bad parts of our country the discrimination against people like me in the job market.
Speaker 1:
I was in a job-seeking process and it went really well. I was invited to a second round in the process and was told that there were only two people left. One of us would get the job. It was such a relief for me. I still hadn't told them about my past.
Speaker 1:
Luckily, my freelance projects made it possible for me to hide in their CV. Projects made it possible for me to hide in their CV. It looked like I had been working all these years and there were no traces of illness in my CV life story. That is when I decided to be honest and say it as it is. What could possibly go wrong? At my CV you could see that I had been editor for a magazine in a women's rights organization. I had been a freelance journalist in glossy magazines and even the author of a book. I had started a webpage that documented activities for children all over Norway, and I also was a part of two other webpage processes.
Speaker 1:
With this on my CV, I was sure the people in the job-seeking process would see my skills and not my health condition. I was wrong. I told this in the interview with a certainty that it would not matter, but it did. They stopped the interview and I remember the shame I felt when the entire group stopped talking. I remember the shame I felt when the entire group stopped talking. It was an awkward silence in the room and I just wanted to run out of it and hide for the rest of the day.
Speaker 1:
A couple of days later, I got a call from one responsible for the recruitment process. I still remember his words, since they hit me with a sword in my heart you are a nice person, but unfortunately there is no room for a person with your problems at our workplace. I froze and just answered OK on the telephone. Then I hung up and the tears streamed down my face. I was 29 years old and never had I been defined by my weaknesses. By that time, I had the luxury of just being me and all my opinions, values, life experiences and interests. When these people only could see my illness and just that, I felt like my entire personality just vanished from earth. Is that all they can see in me? They really disappointed me. This was the first and not the last time I should face discrimination. Today I have some coping strategies every time I face the awful ableism, because that is the word of what I experience sometimes and even though I get used to it, it still hurts.
Speaker 1:
Last year, I read about ableism in Norway in several articles and then I learned about a researcher called Gagan Shabra. He came to Norway from India with admiration for the country's welfare system. However, his experience revealed nuances and challenges. His initial perception as a blind individual, he encouraged barriers that made him question the advocacy of the welfare safety net. Gagan introduced the concept of ableism to Norwegian audience. Introduced the concept of ableism to Norwegian audience.
Speaker 1:
Ableism refers to discriminatory treatment based on visible or invisible disabilities. Despite Norway's top ranking on the UN Human Development Index, gaga noticed that people with disabilities still face challenges. For instance, 64% of youths with disabilities did not complete high school and employment rates remained low. Gagan's research compared disability policies and employment experiences among young adults with visual impairments in Delhi and Oslo. Surprisingly, he found similarities. Both countries had similar equality laws on paper, but practical implementation lacked. Employers often considered gender and cultural diversity, but overlooked disability inclusion. Young jobseekers faced low expectations, hindering their entry into the workforce.
Speaker 1:
Gagan's mission to raise awareness about ableism. He believes that recognizing our biases can lead to a positive change. Visibility is part of human diversity, and understanding this can transform attitudes. As he puts it, next time it could be you needing assistance. Let's embrace a mindset that values everyone's potential. I want to give you some examples of ableism in everyday life so you can understand what it is.
Speaker 1:
Assumptions and stereotypes. Making assumptions about a person's abilities based on their disability, for instance, assuming that someone's mobility impairment cannot work or study at a university because of architectural barriers and solely cited help. Offering assistance without being asked. Assuming that a disabled person needs help. While well-intentioned, this can be disempowering and reinforce stereotypes In accessibility spaces. Designing public spaces, buildings or offices without considering accessibility features, lack of ramps, elevators, etc.
Speaker 1:
Communicates exclusion of people with disabilities. Micro-aggressions. Making comments that unintentionally demean or belittle disabled individuals, for example, saying you don't look disabled, as if it's a compliment. Denying employment, refusing to hire someone solely because of their disability this denies equal opportunities. Inspiration porn treating disabled individuals as inspirational simply for performing everyday tasks. This reduces their experiences to a source of inspiration for non-disabled people. As inspirational simply for performing everyday tasks this reduces their experiences to a source of inspiration for non-disabled people. Medical model thinking viewing disability primarily as a medical problem to be fixed, rather than recognizing the social and environmental factors that contribute to exclusion. Social exclusion. Ignoring or excluding disabled individuals from social activities, events or conversations. This perpetuates isolation and marginalization. If you hear this and you feel bad, since you actually have done mistakes in your meeting with persons with disabilities, just forgive yourself. We all make mistakes sometimes. I don't think the people that excluded me from the job that time were actually bad people. They just had a lack of knowledge. With knowledge we can kill ableism once and for all.
