“I think that 2020 really was a year of learning, unlearning and relearning, and 2021 has been about putting that into practice and action,” says Hannah Olson.
The founder and CEO of Chronically Capable launched the digital job platform in 2020 to help connect folks suffering from chronic illness with top employers offering flexible roles. Since, it’s grown to a community of more than 50,000 workers, with employer partners including Hearst, Levi’s and WhatsApp.
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In the past year, Chronically Capable has introduced virtual job fairs that have attracted nearly 2,000 attendees and launched a mentorship program to pair 25 community members with industry experts from organizations including Uber, Microsoft and McKinsey. Now, a partnership with the coding bootcamp Flatiron School will help to bring those with chronic illnesses into the tech industry. (“Once they graduate, hopefully they’ll come to us to look for a job,” Olson says.”)
That momentum is all part of the sea change Olson has witnessed throughout the pandemic, and all signs point to a more inclusive workforce. “The entire disability community, including friends and family, has the spending power of $8 trillion,” Olson says. “Companies are starting to see that this is their customer base. And in order to reach this customer base, they also need to hire internally and look within."
