Opinion: The Americans with Disabilities Act is 33. Here's what should happen next.

On July 26, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 33 years old. As the law and the ADA generation carry on into our early 30s, we can look back at how far we’ve come and still see how far we have left to go.

Over the past 33 years, the Americans with Disabilities Act has changed the way we enter buildings, cross the sidewalk and has slowly increased access for the more than 25% of the population that identifies as disabled. When it was signed, the ADA was heralded as the “emancipation proclamation” for people with disabilities. And today, the various outcomes of this landmark legislation can be physically seen and used in our everyday lives. Most notably, we think of sidewalks curb cuts — a disability innovation that benefits not only those in wheelchairs but any person who uses a stroller or roller bag or skateboard. Additional modern advances rooted in disability innovation include automatic doors, captioning on televisions, audio books, the electric toothbrush, and even composing an email on your QWERTY keyboard.

Society as a whole has benefited from the ADA. Physical spaces are more accessible today than 33 years ago, but full accessibility still lags behind. For example, many polling locations remain inaccessible for disabled voters, many students with disabilities are not receiving the services they need in schools, and, as addressed by Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this month, there is still a lot of room to grow to ensure that disabled people have access to transportation.

The area that has both the least amount of improvement but the most amount of opportunity is competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities in our country. Competitive, integrated employment means all people with disabilities deserve the opportunity to access and pursue employment in their community at a prevailing wage. In the last three decades, the employment rates of people with disabilities has not dramatically improved. Even while employers around the country have record numbers of open positions, people with disabilities remain an untapped and underutilized talent pipeline. The unemployment rate of disabled people is more than double that of non-disabled people. People without disabilities are employed at three times the rate of disabled people despite unemployed disabled people reporting higher interest in seeking employment than their non-disabled counterparts. There is a pool of highly motivated, innovative, and loyal job seekers looking for their next opportunity.

This “ADA Generation” is actively participating and breaking attitudinal barriers. For instance, on the 25th anniversary of the ADA, Sen. Tom Harkin shared Emilea “Em” Hillman’s story of going from segregated employment making less than minimum wage, to being a business owner herself, employing six other people. Today, Em celebrates 13 years in business and now employs 10 people at her coffee shop. Em is hardly the only success story. Back in May, The Harkin Institute hosted its first Summit on Scaling Disability-Driven Innovation; focusing on entrepreneurs with disabilities. Disabled small-business owners from all over the country presented their business plans to executives from Fortune 100 companies right here in Des Moines. There was also a full-day job fair for disabled job-seekers looking for more traditional employment opportunities.

One story from the conference that stands out as an example of how this generation of disabled people is taking control of their economic futures is Joe Steffy. Joe has been running Poppin Joe’s Gourmet Kettle Corn since 2005. His business has continued to expand, and he has now started producing kettle corn here in Iowa. What is striking about Joe’s story is how he is integrating sales across our community. Not only can you buy from him directly, but you can find Joe at the Downtown Farmers Market in Des Moines and soon the Beaverdale Farmers Market as well. If you buy caramel corn to munch on while you catch the latest flick at The Varsity Cinema in the Drake Neighborhood, you’re supporting Poppin Joe too. Whether it’s delicious popcorn or the keyboard on your phone, innovations rooted in disability have changed our lives, our cities, towns, and the world, and will continue to change lives for the better. Disability is not a bad word. It’s a word that embodies creativity, innovation and when we design for disability, we increase access for all.

Innovation is often found in the discomfort, behind our implicit biases, and in challenging “how we’ve always done things.” This week, as the ADA turns 33, I challenge you to think about if you and your company, nonprofit, club, whatever you’re a part of are missing out on the next big idea because you’re not purposefully engaging with the disability community. Living in a world that is not designed for you makes you a creative thinker and problem solver by default. Do you have too many problems solvers in your company? That’s what I thought. Take steps this year to capture the innovative power of disabled people. Make us your employees, your vendors, your managers, and your board members. If this idea makes you nervous or you feel like you don’t know where you’d start, that alone is an indicator that you’re ready for a little innovation.

For more information on how you can get started on your disability employment journey, head to HarkinInstitute.Drake.edu.

Daniel Van Sant is the Harkin Institute’s director of Disability Policy.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: Employment is next Americans with Disabilities Act frontier