Disability Is A Form Of Diversity: Laura Silvius
Laura Silvius, Senior Strategic Writer, and Co-lead of the Persons with Disabilities Employee Resource Group has a genuine passion for helping others which is visible in both her personal and professional life. Before joining Syneos Health, Laura worked for a non-profit doing advocacy and when she became Co-lead of the PWD ERG she worked to shed light on the fact that not all disabilities are visible and the everyday barriers that those with disabilities must face.
“Worldwide, people with disabilities are anywhere from 2 to 5 times as likely as their peers to be unemployed; and in the US where approximately 1 in 4 adults has a disability (according to the CDC), less than 5 percent of people disclose their disability status to their employers because of bias and stigma.”
Discover more about Laura’s journey with the Persons with Disabilities ERG and what her future hopes are for those living with a disability:
How did you start your journey with Syneos Health? What made you say yes to the opportunity?
I was looking for a job during the pandemic. I’ve spent most of my career as either a freelancer or in a one-person department, and I was looking for a role that would utilize my writing skills but still allow me to share the workload and have colleagues that pushed, taught, and learned from each other. Someone I knew said the Strategic Writing team needed people, and here I am.
What is your favorite part about working for a Clinical Research Organization?
I am understanding this whole world of clinical research far more than I ever did before. One of my favorite things about this job is that I get to have my finger on the pulse of the therapies that different companies are developing for different conditions. I especially love it when one of those conditions is one that has touched my life or the lives of people I love, and I can see a possible pathway to care for them or take a moment to understand how much this therapy would mean to them or their families.
How do you stay motivated in your work?
I genuinely like to help people. It’s why I started working in non-profits, and I spent 3 years doing advocacy, communications, and donor relations for an HIV nonprofit. I saw how that work changed lives, and I can see how the work of Syneos Health changes lives. That’s what I think about when I need motivation.
The Persons with Disabilities ERG is also a big part of that, one with a much more immediate and visible impact. Our members come to us for guidance on how to disclose and ask for accommodations, how to help their team members, and how to navigate difficult situations. So many of our members are motivated to help each other, just as I am; I think we see this in the panels we do, the essays and blog posts we write, and the presentations we prepare for our monthly meetings. We understand that none of us are universal experts, but we each bring our lived experiences as people with mobility challenges, neurodivergent conditions, caretaking for others, and much, much more.
What sparks your passion for taking on the role of Co-Lead for the PWD ERG?
When I went through orientation here at Syneos Health, I was excited at the opportunity to be a part of an ERG and delighted to see the Women’s Group, Veterans ERG, Black ERG, and LGBTQ+ ERG. I was, however, stunned that there was not already an ERG for people with disabilities. This space is where we live; it’s what we do, day in and day out: cancer, depression, migraines, asthma, HIV, ADHD, anxiety, ACH, arthritis, scoliosis — all these and more qualify as disabilities in different parts of the world.
We best serve our patients when we make the effort to understand them, their lived experiences, their immediate concerns, and their journey. We achieve this aim when we make this company the best possible place to work for people with these and other conditions; yet worldwide, people with disabilities are anywhere from 2 to 5 times as likely as their peers to be unemployed; and in the US where approximately 1 in 4 adults has a disability (according to the CDC), less than 5 percent of people disclose their disability status to their employers because of bias and stigma.
What are your future hopes for the PWD ERG?
Disability is a form of diversity, and diversity makes us stronger and better. If this is truly one of Syneos Health’s core values, we need to make it a priority to advance opportunities for people with disabilities. I hope that the Persons with Disabilities ERG can play a role in achieving this aim.
How has your role as Co-Lead for the PWD ERG changed your perspective on those who are living with a disability?
Disabilities have always been a part of my life because they have always affected the people I love. Leading this ERG has certainly expanded my perspective and understanding of what different disabilities mean to the people who live with them, but more than that, I’ve learned how different disabilities are treated. We walk a lot in this ERG about barriers: to employment, independence, physical spaces, full participation in, and contribution to society. One of the biggest barriers is attitudinal: that is, the stigma and bias, and fear that people living with disabilities face from others, including the medical establishment. I’ve learned how many conditions — whether visible or invisible, disclosed or not — are regarded with fear and misunderstanding that eventually lead to termination.
I have hope that Syneos Health can be better, especially after hearing from Michael Brooks how much he values the Total Self aspect of our culture and wants to make that the standard for managing personnel. I hope that with greater access to bias training and learning opportunities such as the panels we organize, no one at Syneos Health will ever have to face the stigma that sadly, for many of us, is the standard and expected reaction to our conditions.
As a co-lead for this ERG, it is my honor and privilege to be a resource and advocate for our members. It’s in the personal interactions I get to have that I feel at my most effective as a leader, far more so than simply scheduling a meeting. But I’ve also learned that the bureaucratic and executive work of leading an ERG gives more members the chance to shine, advocate for their own priorities, and to develop their own leadership and public speaking skills. One of the first people I spoke to about starting this ERG declined to lead it with me because they didn’t want to be that visible and exposed; this same person has taken on other leadership roles within the ERG and is starting to become more comfortable talking to audiences outside the ERG as well, even when it means disclosing their condition. This story of personal growth is only one of many that make the work of leading this group worthwhile to me.
