Authenticity Starts with Disclosure: B/ERGs, trust, and the power of self-disclosure

Self-disclosure is one of the most vulnerable acts an employee can take. For Deaf and disabled professionals, it’s not just about revealing a diagnosis — it’s about revealing your needs.

Do I disclose before, during the interview, or wait until I’m hired?
Will I lose out on opportunities if I request an interpreter?
I can’t hear as well as I used to … what happens if / when my team finds out?
Will the company see my skills and abilities or just the cost of my accommodations?

These are real, daily questions many employees ask themselves. Yet far too often, they remain silent.

According to Deloitte’s Disability Inclusion @ Work 2024 report nearly 60% of employees with disabilities choose not to disclose at work for fear of stigma or lost opportunity.

This stunning silence doesn’t just hide identities; it hides the facts, the dire need, and the humanity lost in many workplace experiences.

B/ERGs as Catalysts for Organizational Trust

Business and Employee Resource Groups (B/ERGs) are catalysts within successful organizations. These employee-led, voluntary groups are uniquely positioned to build internal trust establishing safe spaces for shared identities, fostering a true sense of belonging.

And beyond belonging, B/ERGs hold the key by serving as authentic, strategic feedback loops for organizational leadership - aggregating and amplifying the voices and perspectives of diverse employees. The power of B/ERGs exponentially elevates the entire organization when executives listen and act on strategic recommendations by changing policies or addressing cultural issues. This commitment translates the internal group trust into broader organizational trust, signifying to current and prospective employees that the organization truly values and respects its people.

When B/ERGs are led with shared understanding and modeled through authenticity, employees can simply be — seen, heard, accepted, and valued for who they are. Membership in a B/ERG signals more than belonging; it reflects a shared commitment to respect lived experience and to stand together as a community. When prospective and current employees see leaders and team members safely opening up about their own experiences and leading by example, it elevates the culture from compliance to connection.

Operationalizing Trust through Policy

Trust is the foundation of an employee’s willingness to self-disclose. When considering disclosure, an individual must weigh not only the logistics of accessing accommodations but also the potential social and professional response. Regardless of their degree of hearing or accommodation needs, the employee has to consider a range of implications in nearly every context.

It's crucial to recognize that deafness is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Individuals may or may not identify as culturally Deaf, and their deafness can be present from birth or acquired later in life due to age, illness, or other factors. Lumping all Deaf and hard of hearing individuals into a single "disability" category often fails to capture this full spectrum and can be problematic.

For those who are culturally Deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL), their identity is rooted in a rich language and culture - not a medical deficit - as they may not consider themselves disabled. It's important to note that some culturally Deaf individuals may choose to use hearing aids or cochlear implants. Similarly, many individuals who identify as hard of hearing or as having hearing loss that benefit from hearing aids or cochlear implants may not view themselves as disabled, much like a person who wears glasses wouldn't consider themselves blind or having a disability. While these examples are overly simplistic, it’s critical to remember that experiences are highly diverse and non-binary.

Relying only on a disability framework is limiting: organizations risk sending the message: "We see your barriers, not your culture or your unique identity."

Instead, there are countless synergies across communication needs which are fundamentally challenged by systemic barriers to communication access. These legacy barriers are often compounded by misunderstandings and/or lack of information — on one or both sides — about necessary workplace accommodations. Across the board, we know that organizations which lead by example to remove systemic barriers to access and empower their employees with information and resources are the ones where employee trust and experience is highest.

Case in point: the Forbes’ 2024 Best Employers for Diversity list highlights organizations that go further by operationalizing trust through policy. This means streamlined accommodation request processes, centralized interpreter funding, accessible leadership communications, and clear career advancement paths for all professionals. These leading organizations are proof that when disclosure is safe, belonging and efficiency follows.

Beyond Awareness to Systemic Influence

As I stressed in my recent blog posts, far too many B/ERGs still function like event planners. They host awareness months and panel discussions, but they don’t always play the integral role they deserve in building effective workplace systems that make trust possible, often due to no fault of their own. True inclusion requires moving past mere visibility toward systemic influence.

Effective B/ERGs are positioned as strategic institutional partners who evangelize concrete, measurable change by:

• Securing Access to Power by formalizing quarterly touchpoints with HR, legal, and executive leadership teams, integrating perspectives into strategic planning and budget cycles - shifting the communities from a purely consultative body to an essential institutional partner.
• Advocating for Inclusive Communication by Default by demanding that accessibility is an expectation — not a "special request." B/ERGs can drive inclusion by advocating for accessible communication policies, like transcribed internal meetings with an interpreter present from the start, and creating Deaf-led discussions and workshops with live captioning built-in.
• Modeling Self-Disclosure from the Top by encouraging business leaders and board-level executives to model self-disclosure themselves. When leaders lead by example and can safely share their experiences, it validates the experience of every employee and elevates the culture from compliance to connection.
• Driving Change with Data to move beyond anecdotes towards progress by collecting and presenting data and metrics on accommodation efficiency, disclosure rates, and employee retention. Data provides  objective evidence that builds an irrefutable business case for policy change - thus proving that a trusted, accessible environment is not a cost, but an investment in retaining top talent.

As we gear up for 2026, Deloitte projects that B/ERGs will evolve into strategic engines of cultural transformation. This transformation isn't just about belonging; it’s about embedding trust into the organizational DNA. When B/ERGs operationalize this trust through systemic policy change, disclosure stops feeling like a risk; but rather feels like a right — and that is where authentic business inclusion truly begins.

Delivering on the Promise

At 2axend, we’re proud to work with organizations and B/ERG leaders to build ecosystems of trust. We believe self-disclosure should not be seen as weakness, but as leadership.

When people can be authentic, they can bring their full, passionate selves to work. When workplaces honor authenticity, they don’t just retain talent, they evolve into forces of cultural impact.