TIME: Disabled Workers Deserve More Than Subminimum Wage
When I became Disabled in my late teens and started searching for work, I was confronted with barriers including disability discrimination, inaccessible environments, and attitudinal biases. I lost a job simply because a no-cost adaptation was rejected. My story isn’t unique. And it’s just one example of how systemic barriers prevent Disabled people from accessing meaningful employment.
Since its inception, C Talent has scaled into a well-known Disabled-led talent management firm which represents high-profile Deaf and Disabled talent—including content creators, actors, directors, and writers. C Talent has successfully negotiated contracts and landed brand deals for talent with mainstream business giants like Savage X Fenty, Hulu, About-Face, Disney, Google, Subaru, Nike, and more.
As relatively easy as it may be for many creators to write a hit song or create a viral video, making money from their work may not be as intuitive. Enter the suits! The best executives—whether as a platform or an agent or manager—step in and step up to help creators maximize profits from their work and grow their audience. This can be specific to a particular cohort of creators: Keely Cat-Wells, founder and president of C Talent at Whalar, for example, works to give disabled creators more opportunities in front of and behind the camera.