This is probably one of my pet peeves and it all has to do with walking the fine line. What am I referring to today? Well, it all has to do to making a more concerted effort to being able to distinguish between volunteering and being paid for our knowledge.
Please do not misunderstand me; I am all for volunteering as there are so many benefits to be reaped on all sides. However I continue to witness that more and more organizations of all sizes fail to respect the fine line between volunteering and paid services.
There are always going to be those organizations who are not in a position to pay for knowledge because of their financial positions but when some large governmental organizations and departments and even some large corporations attempt to obtain knowledge and expertise through the volunteer channels, here is where I draw a very pronounced line in the sand.
The excuse that it is not in the budget for remuneration to be given in return for specialized knowledge and expertise is totally unacceptable, unprofessional, and frankly; a huge insult to those being asked to provide their knowledge and expertise in return for no compensation.
I take great exception to those government departments that establish advisory committees for disability issues made up of persons with disabilities. The knowledge that they obtain or seek to obtain goes financially unrewarded and I am not sure if this would apply if these committees were to be made up of persons without a disability.
The question of the day for me would be this: How could these entities justify not paying for expertise and knowledge that is unique? Knowledge that can only be obtain through the eyes of those who live as a person with a disability? However on the other hand, they appear to be more than willing to pay for knowledge when it comes from persons who do not have a disability?
I would respectfully submit that the messages here are very mixed and confusing. On the one hand the expertise being sought is unique, specialized, and very difficult to replicate. On the other hand, entities are not willing to pay for this type of expertise. So why is this? What’s missing here? I can only urge entities to take a long hard look at how they go about seeking and obtaining specialized expertise from persons with disabilities.
Our knowledge and expertise are unique and highly specialized. We have obtained it through our life’s work and experiences! Now we need to be financially compensated for it whenever it is sought.
Just my two cents for today.
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