In 2020, there were 43 million blind people across the world. And yet there is so little representation of blind people in the media. Some people treat blindness as a problem when it is a disability. There are people with disabilities who are CEOs. Others have millions of followers on social media for talking about disability representation. Many blind people are not hired due to their disability, but Molly Burke is on a mission to change the narrative around blindness. She has over 800,000 followers on Instagram alone, and was even on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. She is currently a content creator, DEI consultant for C-Suite level executives, and public speaker.
Burke wants people to know that being blind isn’t entirely a negative experience. She believes being blind has given her a deeper sense of meaning.“It’s taught me so much. Historically disability has been portrayed as such a negative. There is so much beauty. I would not trade that. It has given me so much passion and so much purpose.”
Forbes spoke with Molly Burke about her daily routine, disability representation, and bias in the hiring process.
Maya Richard-Craven: How long have you been advocating for people with disabilities?
Molly Burke: I started public speaking when I was five-years-old. So most of my life. When I really started doing, really consciously made the choice, and found my own voice in it.
Maya Richard-Craven: Do you prefer the term visually impaired or blind?
Molly Burke: I prefer blind. People act like blind is like the B word. People are scared to say it, especially around me.
Maya Richard-Craven: Were you born blind?
Molly Burke: I was born with a disease called retinitis pigmentosa, which causes progressive vision loss. I was born with my blinding disease, but I had vision as a child. I was diagnosed when I was four-years-old. And at that time, I was legally blind. I lost the majority of my vision at 14. That’s when I took on the label blind versus being visually impaired.
Maya Richard-Craven: Can you talk about completing everyday tasks like putting on makeup?
Molly Burke: When you’re disabled in any way, you learn the best ways to accommodate your own self. Disabled people, we know what’s best for us, even my own family who spent their whole life around me doesn’t know how to accommodate me the way I do. I’m my biggest advocate. I’m my biggest ally. I have adapted every single part of my routine to be the most comfortable, convenient, and easy for me. I like touching things because I feel like it’s how I see the world. For me makeup is a really tactile experience. Picking out an outfit is a really tactile experience. Doing my hair is a really tactile experience.
Maya Richard-Craven: You are a social content creator. You always have really unique outfits. How do you select what you wear?
Molly Burke: I’ve like memorized my entire closet and again, it’s super organized. And I reorganize my closet regularly to make sure it’s super curated. I’m decluttering anything I’m not wearing so I’m not coming up against anything that I am not frequently grabbing for. So I memorize by texture. I remember the feeling of something.
Maya Richard-Craven: Do you think there’s bias towards blind people in the hiring process?
Molly Burke: Absolutely. Statistics have shown that to be true. Here in America, 70% of blind people are unemployed. And then look at somewhere like Spain, where less than 5% of blind people are employed. I think it has to do with legislation. It has a lot to do with how the government supports or the lack of support of disabled people. It has to do with ignorance.
Maya Richard-Craven: Do you think disabled people experience discrimination in the workplace and beyond?
Molly Burke: The root of change is through authentic representation.The difference between discrimination against disabled people compared to discrimination against other minority communities is that more often than not, discrimination of disabled people does not have to do with hatred. Most people don’t hate disabled people and don’t want them to have opportunities. Don’t want to hire them. It is fear of the unknown. They don’t want to do something wrong, to say something wrong. They’re scared. When we’re scared of something we love to avoid it. Disabled people have been overlooked for far too long.
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