H illary Wool was in her first year of working with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) when she discovered she had ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that can cause spinal vertebrae to fuse, causing severe pain, a hunched posture, and a lack of mobility. It’s a rare type of arthritis that can affect younger people, such as Wool, and is not curable but manageable with treatment and physical therapy. Wool can walk at times and uses a wheelchair at other times. Her experience as a young professional living with a disability inspired her to launch a disability- focused network at her workplace, the AccessAbility employee resource group. This group offers information, networking, and peer mentorship for BCG employees who have disabilities or who are caregivers for disabled people. They advocate for inclusion, equity, and accessibility within BCG to eliminate disability-related stigma. Creating a Support Network Wool benefited from the encouragement of her colleagues as she processed her diagnosis. “As I started to come to terms with the reality that this would likely be a permanent part of my life, others whom I was close with would connect me with different staff members who were also grappling with their own experiences of chronic illness and disability. I realized this problem wasn’t just about me,” said Wool in a video on BCG’s website. After other disabled or chronically ill people learned that Wool had a disabling condition, they started coming up to her and asking for guidance on how to navigate the workplace. She did her best to offer advice, as people had done the same for her after her diagnosis. However, she soon realized that finding support shouldn’t just be a matter of being lucky enough to be close to the right people. Some sort of organized community and structure was needed. “I realized, you know, people need to be able to have an outlet for these kinds of questions and experiences. And it shouldn’t just be hush-hush, one-on-one,” Wool says.
“Others whom I was close with would connect me with different staff members who were also grappling with their own experiences of chronic illness and disability. I realized this problem wasn’t just about me. ”
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