
Show HN: Remote jobs for people with disabilities - zaheerbaloch
http://www.jobenabler.org
======
codingdave
The only job posted there says they want you to work in their office to start.

That is just a content problem, but I have mixed feelings about the site in
general. As someone with medical problems that do impact my work, I love the
idea of a site that has filtered the postings down to employers who will be
supportive. But I don't see anything there that actually enforces that filter
or proves that the employers understand the related issues. Also, the concept
seems to be on shaky ground, legally, at least in the USA where employers are
not privy to the medical status of their employees.

~~~
dfsegoat
RE: "Shakey ground legally" Are you talking about your particular case where a
medical issue impacts your ability to work but isn't a true disability?
Because otherwise, for a true disability - employers MUST comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act and not discriminate against a candidate who
is qualified, disabled - and can work with a "reasonable accommodation" [1].

1 -
[https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/ada18.html](https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/ada18.html)

~~~
codingdave
I'm not sure what legal distinction you are referring to when you say a "true
disability".

Nor am I sure exactly what the legalities are, which is why I simply said it
felt "shaky". But I do know that in general, hiring processes don't ask about
disabilities. They are one of the topics that are supposed to be unknown, to
avoid discrimination claims. So putting up a site where the employers and
candidates are volunteering to be put into that bucket is what I am
questioning. IANAL, so I'm not trying to say whether the idea is OK or not...
I'm just saying that I don't know how those answers would play out, but it
feels like an area that deserves investigation.

~~~
dfsegoat
Ok thanks. Yep I thought about it and better see your point now.

------
excalibur
[https://www.disabilityjobexchange.com/](https://www.disabilityjobexchange.com/)

[https://disabilityjobs.net/](https://disabilityjobs.net/)

[https://www.disabledperson.com/](https://www.disabledperson.com/)

[https://abilityjobs.com/](https://abilityjobs.com/)

[https://www.disability.jobs/](https://www.disability.jobs/)

This is from the first two pages of the Google results for "disability jobs".
I've excluded government programs and disability-focused sections of more
generalized job boards.

~~~
point78
None of these are for remote jobs and just look like they are data farming

------
sonofgod
You've got some encoding issues, I think it's double UTF-8: ("Youâve")

I appreciate it's only a demo but your one job being not actually remote is a
bit of a letdown.

The big challenge is going to be getting this advertised.

~~~
zaheerbaloch
I have noticed the encoding issue. Working on it. The job posting is though
not remote, but welcomes/prefers the people with disabilities.

~~~
exikyut
Here you go, if you're using python(?):
[https://ftfy.now.sh/](https://ftfy.now.sh/)

That's the web demo link above, but ftfy is a Python library you throw all
your text through and it comes out magically perfect. I can copy Unicode text
through (non-UTF-8 aware) VNC and completely destroy it, paste it into FTFY,
and it just figures it out no matter how bad it gets.

Since I'm here, I _have_ to do this...

I copied a small piece of text back and forth through TigerVNC a few times,
yielding this:

    
    
      YouÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂve
    

What FTFY thinks I copied back and forth: "You’ve"

Note the â - err, sorry, ’ quote character :)

(Oh hey, I made my comment get a horizontal scrollbar, without using any code
formatting! Nice!)

~~~
memco
Plus one for FTFY: recently went through some pains converting shell output
with some funky encodings to XML compliant UTF8. FTFY was the simplest and
most effective solution I found for getting the desired outcome without
mangling anything more than necessary.

------
simonebrunozzi
I think the initiative is brilliant, despite the fact that there's only one
job posting right now (Aug 24th, 8am PT).

Let me share my point of view as founder/CEO of a small startup in San
Francisco, hoping that this helps.

What we do: we are building a software platform to digitize real estate
properties (titles) using the Blockchain. (I know, Blockchain will solve
everything bla-bla-bla... the reality is that we think this is a good use case
for Blockchain technology; but I digress...)

We are a team of 3 co-founders (2 fairly technical, one business oriented), 1
lawyer (the product requires a lot of legal stuff), and 2.5 software
developers.

Right now we are looking for at least one more technical person, possibly a
front-end.

We have raised ~650k in an angel round, after bootstrapping for ~10 months. We
launched an alpha version of the product, and we have one paying customer (a
company, as we are mostly b2b at the moment).

The next few hires will be absolutely crucial for us. We can't really afford
experiments. What this has to do with disabilities?

I am happy to hire anyone with the right skills, no matter his skin, gender,
sexual orientation, or disabilities. Heck, we even hired Italians! (I am
Italian, I can make that joke :D).

We don't mind remote people, either. We have a very flexible policy in regards
to work. We are not big fans of 9-to-5 and offices.

To be able to hire someone with disabilities, we would need a healthy
"inventory" of candidates. The site mentioned in this post, jobenabler.org,
lists job opportunities, but doesn't guarantee a good enough list of
candidates.

As CEO of a small young cash-poor startup, I have to be brutal and prioritize
my time, and therefore I am not sure whether this tool is good enough to find
our next hire.

Please note: I am trying to share my point of view as a potential employer,
hoping that this helps the discussion.

Any comment, suggestion, or ways in which we can improve the chances of hiring
someone with disabilities, please share here, or email me at simone @
fabrica.city.

~~~
zaheerbaloch
This is very helpful. I am working on growing the site and getting it in front
of as many technical people possible. This is just v1 to get feedback to make
sure I am on the right track.

On the side note, posting is free so you can post today and see if you get any
potential candidates.

~~~
simonebrunozzi
Thanks a lot for doing this!

I have already pinged my co-founder to discuss this further.

Question: what prompted you to start this?

~~~
zaheerbaloch
When we were expecting my first child, the doc asked us to get tested for Down
Syndrome. I knew what was down syndrome, and didnt take the test as I cant
imagine an abortion just because of that reason. I was blessed with a normal
daughter, but that Down Syndrome stuck with me. Then I did more research and
found that people with disabilities are discriminated against even though they
are capable of doing those jobs. That fear that what if I had a kid with
disability and she/he couldnt find a job made me build jobenabler.

~~~
propman
Thank you so much for doing this, I deeply deeply appreciate it and hope it
turns out great and helps many.

------
unethical_ban
I like the idea, but isn't the problem the fact that more tech isn't
"disabled-friendly" anyway? Wouldn't it be technically illegal to discriminate
against disabled without a bona fide reason?

As far as the site itself goes - hey, go for it! But it should have a mission
statement, some kind of FAQ or explanation of why that should be used instead
of other sites, and more information on the kinds of disabilities being
catered to in a posting (or why a job is particularly considerate of
disabilities).

~~~
Cthulhu_
> Wouldn't it be technically illegal to discriminate against disabled without
> a bona fide reason?

It is in most parts of the world, and most countries have building codes that
force them to be wheelchair accessable for example.

However, I can imagine that there's a group of people for who getting to work
every day is a big hassle (arranging transport, etc), and who would prefer to
work from home.

~~~
nathanaldensr
It's not just about physical access to a building. There are many, many jobs
that require certain physical abilities. You'll often see them listed on a US
job application like this: "Must be able to lift 100 pounds unassisted." The
wording is carefully chosen to indicate a job requirement rather than a
personal health or wellness requirement.

~~~
mmt
Moreover, such requirements can be listed, even if they're only occasional
parts of the job (and might reasonably be accomodated away by having someone
else or a piece of machinery perform that portion instead). For example, I've
seen senior IT-Helpdesk postings requiring lifting of 40 pounds, where the
duties listed are otherwise non-physical.

------
bchjam
How does this cater to the disabled more than any other remote job site? If it
does, there should be a little blurb about it

~~~
zaheerbaloch
The jobs/companies are genuinely interested in hiring people with
disabilities. I am working on adding more copy to the website to make it more
clearer.

------
jscholes
Bit of a mixed bag this one. Love the site itself. It's accessible, it's fast,
it's easy to use. But it also only shows two jobs. One of them isn't remote,
and it pays in euros but the salary section at the top of the page says
dollars. I'll leave the discussions re: disclosing a disability to employers
upfront or being refered to a company by a disability-specific jobsearch site
to other people; I'm disabled myself but still don't have answers in those
areas.

~~~
zaheerbaloch
Thanks for this sincere feedback. This is work in progress and just wanted to
get it out there as soon as possible. Will be adding currency symbol with
salary, plus making sure the employers mention that whether its a complete
remote job. Note that the idea is that the companies that are genuinely
willing to hire people with disabilities can post on jobenabler and genuine
candidates apply.

------
cimmanom
And... the only job posted there also uses a gendered term ("king") that
suggests it's not open to women.

~~~
harianus
I'm the job poster, and yes. It's hard to find a term that does apply for
both. If you have a good suggestion, let me know!

~~~
cimmanom
"Ruler"? Personally, I find silly over the top terminology like that or
("ninja" or "rock star") a turn-off in a job posting anyway; but for those who
do find it appealing, there's plenty of gender-neutral terminology. Thank you
for being open to input.

------
maerF0x0
As a more meta point. Maybe we could get a supportive tag on the monthly who's
hiring post?

~~~
CiTyBear
It already have remote for remote job. Something like [PRM] (Person with
Reduced Mobility] ?

------
justboxing
Is this some kind of joke? There's literally just 1 job listed, and even that
looks like a "Lorem ipsum dolor" type placeholder content.

[https://www.jobenabler.org/job?id=2](https://www.jobenabler.org/job?id=2)

POSITION : Are you our King of Dev?

COMPANY : Member Get Member Company.

If this is a landing page to gauge interest, it's a really poor attempt and
definitely doesn't belong on Show HN (per guidelines).

> If your work isn't ready for people to try out yet, please don't do a Show
> HN. Once it's ready, come back and do it then.

Source: Show HN Guidelines
[https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html)

~~~
rhacker
Whoa now, I would say this falls under a Show HN... however your post clearly
falls under what you're not supposed to do:

In Comments

Be respectful. Anyone sharing work is making a contribution, however modest.

Ask questions out of curiosity. Don't cross-examine.

Instead of "you're doing it wrong", suggest alternatives. When someone is
learning, help them learn more.

When something isn't good, you needn't pretend that it is. But don't be
gratuitously negative.

------
kjullien
What kind of disabilities are we talking about here ? Physical ? Mental ? Both
? Any way to know ? Does anthropophobia count as a disability for instance ?

Searched on the page but I could not find anything relating this.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
Presumably the kind of disability that makes it difficult for you to work
remote jobs.

------
DoreenMichele
I have mixed feelings about this. I have a disability. I went through a
program to help me get a job. Thankfully, I had a job offer by the time the
intake process was completed because their approach was likely to leave me
trapped in poverty permanently rather than merely for years while I sorted my
personal issues.

It seems to be inherently problematic to do this type of focus. Putting your
emphasis on the disability first and foremost tends to be counterproductive.

It also promotes a mentality that you deserve a job for your son story. This
tends to work about as well as nepotism does, and for pretty much the same
reason.

People may need a job even though they are disabled, but the focus really
needs to be on "Well, what _can_ you do?"

The very first problem I see with this is that it promises _full-time_ remote
jobs. Disabled people often have a lot of trouble working full-time. Many of
them want part-time work.

My first full-time job was actually only 37.5 hours per week on the evening
shift. That 2.5 hours difference was important. I eventually made the switch
to 40 hours on the day shift and the transition was really hard. I spent weeks
feeling exhausted, and this was after having that job for a while. I probably
would have washed out had I started at 40 hours on day shift.

I would prefer to see a blog that explored disability issues combined with a
remote job board where the listings answered the kind of questions a person
with a disability might have. The blog could explore what works and why for
different types of disabilities, then highlight a few current job postings.

A lot of disabled people were able-bodied until something bad happened to
them. They may not know what they need to know to make life work as a disabled
person. Most messages aimed at disabled individuals tell them they just can't
do what others do. Figuring it all out yourself is an extra job on top of
trying to make life work with a disability.

I would especially like to see part-time remote jobs and things with flexible
hours.

In practice, I have found that 1099 positions serve my needs better than a
"remote job." I saw how remote jobs were handled by my previous corporate
employer. To my mind, it was a worst of both worlds scenario.

As a person with a disability, I need more control over my time and life and
more opportunity to do things on my terms. I need control over my schedule.
Jobs tend to not offer that. Certain contract positions classified as 1099
work tend to be better about that. (Which isn't to say this is always true.
Not all 1099 positions are like that.)

One problem with a job: the work is structured with an expectation that you
show up at certain hours and hit a certain productivity level for those hours.
I like doing piece work where I know when it needs to be finished, but it is
up to me when I do it and how long I spend on it.

Different disabilities will have different needs and remedies. What a blind
person needs will very much differ from what I need. What a deaf person needs
will very much differ from both those scenarios.

I hope you are wildly successful. Please take my remarks in the spirit of
constructive feedback.

Edit: I will note that I like the name and I think the name gives it potential
to become something that fits with my above thoughts about how to approach
this problem space.

~~~
Kagerjay
_Different disabilities will have different needs and remedies. What a blind
person needs will very much differ from what I need._

Related, but I've done a little bit of work with a nonprofit specialized in
helping visually impaired / blind people get jobs.

Its actually requires a potentially complex solution. Website needs to have
full ARIA / disability text in mind to use with NVDA screen readers. There's
alot more UX and userstories in mind when it comes to building a solution for
this. Not only that, a traditional job board does not really suffice IMO. It
needs to be a full blown support network at least with visually impaired
people in mind, there's 2 major organizations AFAIK that do this in america.
The organizations does webcam-based interviews with these users, similar to
more next upcoming Gen Z type hiring solutions.

I think disability job boards is interesting, but really its not that much
different from a remote job for most people. Hiring companies that are
accepting of flexible remote jobs are most likely equally accepting to people
with nonvisually impaired or nondeaf based job board, because in the end it
really doesn't make a difference to them from their perspective.

A remote job is the same, its wheel chair accessible but it does require more
flexible hours. But it really shouldn't matter if you still get stuff done,
and have async meeting standups, etc

Its important to note that visual impairment has a very wide spectrum of
users. You have to seperate out how bad the impairment is, some can see things
in low light, others have been blind from birth, while some have lost sight
later in life. These drastically change userstories.

 _What a deaf person needs will very much differ from both those scenarios._

Visually impaired users require a much more sophisticated solution, deaf
impairment I would argue not as much. They can still read a screen and
communicate via slack etc, but issues with standup meetings etc.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

So the way I see it is thusly, with respect to different disability categories

\- Physically impaired - same as remote jobs, but companies should have
meetups done asynchronously

\- Visually impaired - a company that is okay with someone completely remote
and has support for aria across all the job needs. Job duties need to be very
consistent, cannot be too flexible _(e.g. startups)_

\- Hearing impaired - a company that is okay with communicating purely by
slack, or accomodating this specific user with slack meeting notes, etc.

~~~
DoreenMichele
Thank you for this good information. I have sent a link to your comment to a
Google Group I co-own for blind developers.

(I'm not blind, though I do have really lousy eyesight that can't really be
corrected. I'm also not a developer per se.)

~~~
Kagerjay
No problem :)

------
10dpd
There isn't any difference between a job for someone with a disability vs
someone without a disability.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
There are jobs where employers actively try to support disabled employees, and
there are jobs that will grumblingly provide the bare minimum legally required
by the ADA and then find some pretext to fire you (or to not hire you in the
first place, if you admit your disability during the interview).

It's valuable to let companies in the first category identify themselves.

~~~
zaheerbaloch
Totally, this is the whole idea. Companies who prefer people with disabilities
and not just post some random stuff in their job description to justify "equal
oppurtunity employers".

You guys are really awesome as I have got awesome support and people have
literally answered the questions that I didnt have answers for. Thank you so
much :)

