AV & IT
Josh Kaufman, M.Ed
We’ve all seen the late-night TV ads for “jobs in the growing IT sector” telling the viewer that if they go to this for-profit college or that they’ll be prepared for a “high paying job” in IT. Or maybe that’s just me when I can’t fall asleep. Either way, the fact that those ads are running shows the role that IT has played, whether it continues to or not, in increasing economic opportunity. What you don’t see are ads for AV training programs, nor do we hear about how AV is a pathway to a better life for those in the field. But now, we have an opportunity, because AV and IT are, for better or worse, linked and will be as long as the tools that AV uses continue to be networked or rely on other IT resources.
We are at a crossroads, in America and the world, where the need for new, technical jobs is growing as many other jobs are replaced with automation. Many jobs that used to be the entry path to the workforce are either no longer able to match a living wage or don’t provide skills that can be transferred to other professions. The growing gap between haves and have-nots can be reversed but it will take creativity and ingenuity, a role perfectly suited for AV…if we tap into the IT world’s methods of recruitment.
There are a few groups of people I would like to specifically address with this idea, and the reason is these groups are historically pushed aside, often unemployed or underemployed, or are the victims of outdated laws which make it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to escape from poverty. Specifically, in this case, I want to talk about people with disabilities such as being on the Autism spectrum or, increasingly, being a member of the LGBT community (especially the transgender community.)
There is a stereotype of disability that holds that those who qualify for SSDI are getting paid enough to live on and can sustain a quality of life that most of us would accept. The truth is, that is not the case. SSDI requires an individual not only to maintain no more than $2,000 in “resources” (not including a home or car) and cannot earn more than that or they will lose their SSDI benefits. Unfortunately, as we know, cost-of-living has far outstripped social benefits or even entry-level salaries. In addition, the work world is not built for those who cannot dedicate 8+ hours a day to whatever job they have or flexible enough to allow for those who need to take breaks or receive medical care to do so (in many cases.) On top of that, there is intense discrimination against hiring individuals with disabilities, no matter how qualified they may be, for positions. This leads to chronic unemployment and underemployment for individuals with disabilities, especially those who are non-neurotypical such as people on the Autism Spectrum. Unemployment just among college graduates who are on the Autism Spectrum is a staggering 85% according to a 2019 article in MarketWatch, versus (at the time) a 4.5% rate in the general population. This means that for tens of thousands of people who are capable, willing, and able to work there is no work available. This can be attributed to many factors, the job interview process is so heavily focused on social cues and socialization that it is daunting for non-neurotypical people, but it doesn’t have to be that way. IT has, historically, been a field welcoming to these individuals. Why? Because along with Autism Spectrum Disorders comes a wealth of ability to focus on hyperspecialized topics. Companies like HP, Microsoft, and SAP have all started initiatives to hire people with Autism after recognizing their value to their company. Similarly, the Israeli Defense Forces, which previously excluded individuals with Autism from mandatory service which proved a hindrance in their professional lives, has recognized that individuals with Autism can serve and has initiated a program to route them to roles where they can excel such as photo analysis and software coding.
Discrimination based on sexual or gender orientation was legal in over 20 states across the nation until the Supreme Court ruled in January 2020 in the case of Bostok v. Clayton County, GA that title VII protections applied to gender and sexual orientation. However, despite this, there is ongoing discrimination against LGBT individuals, particularly as we are seeing this year, against transgender individuals. Let me state, for the record, that in no way is this moral, right, or in any way protecting anyone apart from people who refuse to acknowledge that this is 2021
and the world is full of so much diversity that it is staggering. There has never been, nor ever will be, a compelling reason that who someone loves or what gender they are, should preclude them from employment or the ability to participate equally in society. As Senior Chief Petty Officer Kristen Beck, a retired US Navy SEAL and transgender rights activist said “I don’t want you to love me. I don’t want you to like me. But I don’t want you to beat me up and kill me. You don’t have to like me, I don’t care. But please don’t kill me.” This can be applied to the workplace as well. Employment is so often tied to bias on the part of the person conducting the interview that individuals who are outside the “default” in our culture are often overlooked (at best) or actively discriminated against at worst. Another way to look at Chief Beck’s quote is that an employer doesn’t have to like you, they don’t have to want to be your best friend, but don’t pass a candidate by simply out of bias.
So what does this all have to do with AV, IT, and my late-night TV watching? Well, here’s the thing. AV, now that we’re seen as an IT domain, can be a beacon to both individuals with disabilities and LGBT individuals when it comes to employment. Just as IT jobs have been positioned as the path to a stable career, AV jobs (especially in higher ed) can be as well. There is so much esoteric knowledge in the AV world that it is a perfect field for non-neurotypical individuals. We, as professionals, spend so much of our lives fiddling to get that perfect sound, to get systems tuned, and to get control systems programmed. We can make a dent in that high percentage of individuals on the Autism spectrum who are unemployed by bringing them into the fold and working with them. On top of that, our schools can benefit by hiring individuals with other disabilities for other roles as well. Ongoing support for Zoom doesn’t need to be handled on-site, if a person can’t get to campus or if disabilities make it difficult to be on campus full time. Similarly, intake of service requests, routing of calls, or even design of systems can be handled by people who are not on site.
One thing I have learned, working in AV, is how we can benefit those who are often underrepresented. The last year I worked at my first job, a student runner came up to me right before commencement with a last-minute change to the name list. A student’s legal name change as part of their transition had come through and their name needed to be updated on our list. The fact that as AV professionals we were able to make that small, but for the student, incredibly important change showed that the university was seeing them for who they were. As we’ve all experienced through the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been able to express themselves in many unique ways over Zoom, either because they aren’t in the room or because they feel more comfortable being themselves in their own homes. Now, I’m not suggesting we spend the rest of our lives interacting over Zoom, that would be…strange. What I AM suggesting is that the same spirit of acceptance is carried over, and again AV can do something here. Just like we were able to change the name in the commencement announcement, we need to stand up for our colleagues and our students, develop inclusive policies in both technology use and hiring.
I know this wasn’t my usual discussion of technological solutions, but not every solution involves tech. But these solutions, hiring, policy, and others, are all part of universal design. They make the built environment more usable for all. And by expanding on the IT field’s role in increasing economic opportunity we can be leaders in increasing access for all.
Get to Know Josh Kaufman
Josh Kaufman has spent his entire career in higher ed AV, starting as a student employee at Boston University where he worked for seven years and later moving on to Harvard University where he was the assistant director. He is currently the Operations Coordinator and R&D coordinator at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. He holds a masters in instructional design from the University of Massachusetts as well as two graduate certificates in instructional technology and instructional technology design.
Josh has presented at NWMET in 2019 on the application of Universal Design to AV in order to increase accessibility, as well as at HETMA’s virtual conference in June and at EdSpaces 2020 in November. He had been slated to present at Infocomm 2020 prior to its cancelation on the same topic.
In his spare time, Josh enjoys attending NCAA hockey games, exploring the historic sites of New England, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.