RE: Disability inclusion in evaluation | Eval Forward

I think this is an important conversation, the issue of disability inclusion and by extension other marginalized groups in evaluation. No doubt that inclusion will bring everyone on board and an opportunity to be heard. 

I think one of the barriers to disability inclusion and others such as the LGBTIQ is the lack of appropriate communication strategy. In most societies in Africa for example, LGBTIQs do not accept being called gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc. same as a person with disability would not accept being disabled for fear of being stigmatized. Using languages that are not offensive in drafting our tools would impact their inclusion and participation. Spending more time identifying, and strategizing an appropriate method including defining the right language would ensure active participation and inclusion of everyone in the evaluation. Reflecting on the issue of visualization, could be an important way to draft the tool, without asking questions like, are you a disabled person, you are a gay? Alternatively, which of these (emoji) appropriately describes you?

In short, to enhance disability inclusions, we need take a deeper reflection to understand the contexts in which we are conducting the evaluations.