Anonymous; Neurodiversity and disabled persons barriers
Anonymous industry participant
A hindrance to increasing the diversity in the securities industry may be the cumbersome processes regarding testing accommodations which disparately impact neurodiverse and disabled persons. Documentation requirements exceeding beyond what the ADA establishes as sufficient has a disparate impact on neurodiverse and disabled persons. Requiring unnecessary documentation is often costly, untimely to acquire, and does not guarantee accommodations even when sufficient documentation has been provided. These serve to dissuade individuals from attempting to obtain rightful accommodations and/or from attempting the examination. A GAO study regarding graduate admission and professional certification examinations indicates approximately 2% of test takers received an accommodation for their examinations. This is greatly concerning due to 26% of adults in the U.S. population live with a disability , a majority of which possess such disabilities that would qualify them for testing accommodations. As certifications are crucial for the financial industry, barriers to certification greatly impede participation. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, participation of neurodiverse and disabled persons in the financial activities industry is disproportionately low being approximately 0.3% of the industry’s labor force. I encourage FINRA to examine the practices and procedures surrounding testing accommodation considerations to identify unnecessary obstacles for qualified persons to receiving appropriate accommodations. While substantial documentation for the neurodivergent or disabled candidates support the integrity of industry examinations and their accommodation processes, requirements for an unnecessary abundance of documentation may impede or dissuade individuals in taking industry examinations. By assuring that documentation requirements do not exceed beyond what is necessary and sufficient to accommodate a qualified candidate, FINRA may increase the industry’s ability to foster the inclusion of this demographic and by extension enhance the industry’s acquisition and retention this talent pool. Barriers to receiving appropriate accommodations may include requests for excessive medical documentation, requests to update or reconfirm a diagnosis, and requests for comprehensive psycho-educational reports on past standardized assessments. A thorough analysis of accommodation practices may reveal greater opportunity for FINRA to balance the needs of disability verification and access to rightful accommodations. George A. Scott, HIGHER EDUCATION AND DISABILITY Improved Federal Enforcement Needed to Better Protect Students’ Rights to Testing Accommodations, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-12-40.pdf (last visited Jun 17, 2021). Disability Impacts All of Us, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html (last visited Jun 17, 2021). Bureau of Labor Statistics, PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY: LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS — 2020, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf (last visited Jun 17, 2021).
Anonymous Comment On Regulatory Notice 21-17
A hindrance to increasing the diversity in the securities industry may be the cumbersome processes regarding testing accommodations which disparately impact neurodiverse and disabled persons. Documentation requirements exceeding beyond what the ADA establishes as sufficient has a disparate impact on neurodiverse and disabled persons. Requiring unnecessary documentation is often costly, untimely to acquire, and does not guarantee accommodations even when sufficient documentation has been provided. These serve to dissuade individuals from attempting to obtain rightful accommodations and/or from attempting the examination. A GAO study regarding graduate admission and professional certification examinations indicates approximately 2% of test takers received an accommodation for their examinations. This is greatly concerning due to 26% of adults in the U.S. population live with a disability , a majority of which possess such disabilities that would qualify them for testing accommodations. As certifications are crucial for the financial industry, barriers to certification greatly impede participation. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, participation of neurodiverse and disabled persons in the financial activities industry is disproportionately low being approximately 0.3% of the industry’s labor force. I encourage FINRA to examine the practices and procedures surrounding testing accommodation considerations to identify unnecessary obstacles for qualified persons to receiving appropriate accommodations. While substantial documentation for the neurodivergent or disabled candidates support the integrity of industry examinations and their accommodation processes, requirements for an unnecessary abundance of documentation may impede or dissuade individuals in taking industry examinations. By assuring that documentation requirements do not exceed beyond what is necessary and sufficient to accommodate a qualified candidate, FINRA may increase the industry’s ability to foster the inclusion of this demographic and by extension enhance the industry’s acquisition and retention this talent pool. Barriers to receiving appropriate accommodations may include requests for excessive medical documentation, requests to update or reconfirm a diagnosis, and requests for comprehensive psycho-educational reports on past standardized assessments. A thorough analysis of accommodation practices may reveal greater opportunity for FINRA to balance the needs of disability verification and access to rightful accommodations. George A. Scott, HIGHER EDUCATION AND DISABILITY Improved Federal Enforcement Needed to Better Protect Students’ Rights to Testing Accommodations, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-12-40.pdf (last visited Jun 17, 2021). Disability Impacts All of Us, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html (last visited Jun 17, 2021). Bureau of Labor Statistics, PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY: LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS — 2020, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf (last visited Jun 17, 2021).