In this episode of All About Change, Tiffany Yu shares her experience growing up with a disability as the daughter of Asian immigrants, and how she transitioned from keeping her disability private to becoming an advocate for disability rights. As the CEO of Diversability and founder of the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, Yu discusses her work promoting disability pride and economic justice through various initiatives.
The episode explores the challenges faced by people with both visible and invisible disabilities, highlighting the impact of stigma on disclosure and the importance of cross-disability solidarity. Yu outlines the role of allies in creating a more inclusive society and describes her efforts through platforms like the San Francisco Mayor's Disability Council to address community concerns and promote local accessibility.
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Growing up as the daughter of Asian immigrants, Tiffany Yu kept her disability and family tragedy private for many years due to cultural perceptions of disability as a source of shame. It wasn't until college that she finally shared her story. Yu later took to social media to confront her hand-related shame directly, posting pictures and explaining her arm's functionality despite its paralysis. Through this process, she learned that shame thrives on secrecy and silence, and built a strong supportive community to help counter occasional negative responses.
As CEO and founder of Diversability, Yu leads a social enterprise dedicated to building cross-disability solidarity and elevating disability pride. She established the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, which has awarded $92,500 to 93 disability projects globally. Yu actively fights against policies like "14c certificates" that allow sub-minimum wage payment to disabled workers, and invests in disabled-owned startups to promote economic justice. She demonstrates her commitment through intentional choices, such as hiring disabled professionals for her book "The Anti-Abliss Manifesto" and choosing disabled-owned businesses for her launch events.
Yu acknowledges that most disabilities are invisible, including conditions like PTSD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and OCD. She notes that people with non-apparent disabilities often hesitate to disclose their conditions due to stigma. Yu advocates for cross-disability solidarity, emphasizing that despite different experiences, all disabled people face challenges related to ableism. She defines effective allies as those who refuse to devalue others based on disabilities and actively learn about and advocate with the disability community. Through her position on the San Francisco Mayor's Disability Council, Yu works to relay community concerns to city leadership, while encouraging everyone to contribute to making their local areas more inclusive.
1-Page Summary
Tiffany Yu has shared her journey of growing up with a disability and overcoming the associated shame, deeply rooted in her immigrant family background.
Tiffany Yu's family origins played a significant role in how she perceived her disability and the tragedy in her family.
As the daughter of Asian immigrants, with her father from Taiwan and her mother a refugee from the Vietnam War, Tiffany's cultural background saw disability and death as sources of shame—affecting the entire household. Any incident, such as a car accident leading to a disability, was perceived as an omen of bad luck that could tarnish the family's lineage. This perspective led Tiffany to maintain secrecy about the accident she experienced and the disability that resulted from it for many years.
It wasn't until she reached college that Tiffany finally found the courage to share her story. Realizing she was rusty in telling her own story due to a long habit of withholding the truth, Tiffany faced her past and opened up about her disability and the associated family tragedy.
Through public acknowledgment and social media, Tiffany confronted her feelings of shame directly.
An act of bravery and self-acceptance, Tiffany decided to face her shame head-on by posting pictures of her hand on social media. She not only showed her arm but also explained her functional ...
Tiffany Yu's Personal Story and Disability Experience
Tiffany Yu is at the forefront of disability advocacy, leading initiatives that promote disability pride, economic justice, and policy reform.
Tiffany Yu heads Diversability, a social enterprise dedicated to building a cross-disability solidarity movement and elevating disability pride.
Yu, the CEO and founder of Diversability, endeavors to unite the disability community and their allies. During her time at Goldman Sachs, Yu took inspiration from employee resource groups, leading to the formation of Diversability. This platform also features a section dedicated to allies, reinforcing its inclusive vision.
Tiffany's efforts extended to the establishment of the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, a monthly micro-grant that funds disability projects around the world. To date, it has awarded $92,500 to 93 disability initiatives across 11 countries.
Tiffany Yu openly condemns policies that permit the sub-minimum wage payment to disabled workers, highlighting the need for significant policy reform.
Yu discusses the problematic "14c certificates" that are used by certain organizations across over 30 states to pay disabled individuals below minimum wage. She firmly believes that all individuals, irrespective of disability, are capable of performing work that warrants at least the minimum wage. Yu's cause is underscored by Elizabeth Warren's staff's reports, which indicate that workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities are paid meager wages compared to the high salaries of non-profit CEOs. Yu is driven to transform such practices that reinforce ableism.
Beyond advocating for legal reforms, Tiffany Yu actively strives to empower the disabled community through f ...
Tiffany's Disability Advocacy Work and Initiatives
Tiffany Yu provides insight on the daily struggles faced by individuals with invisible disabilities, emphasizing the importance of cross-disability unity and the crucial role of allies in the disability community.
Yu acknowledges that a majority of disabilities are not apparent to an observer and can include conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and OCD. There is a notable hesitation among individuals with non-apparent disabilities to disclose their condition due to the stigma attached and the fear of receiving similar negative treatment that people with visible disabilities often endure.
People with non-apparent disabilities have what Yu terms a 'strange privilege,' which allows them to choose when and to what extent to disclose their disability. Jay Ruderman’s personal experiences with scoliosis exemplify the ongoing stigma—despite it being 40 years since he dealt with his condition, he still feels reluctant to talk about it. This hesitancy suggests a broader societal issue where people are afraid of being seen as 'other.'
The hesitation can lead to silence among people with non-apparent disabilities, who may also wish to avoid the stares and invasive questioning on their capability that visibly disabled individuals often face. Yu observes a change within the disability community, with a growing effort to embrace and include individuals with non-apparent disabilities.
Yu speaks passionately about cross-disability solidarity, stressing that despite differing experiences, all disabled people share challenges related to ableism and adjusting to a world not built for them. She advocates for supporting one another within the community and welcomes anyone who believes they have a disability, asserting that identifying as disabled is a personal choice.
Yu defines an ally as someone who refuses to devalue others based on their disabilities. An ally shows a commitment to learning ab ...
The Disability Community and the Need for Allies
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