We Thought We Were Creating Jobs: The Power of Inclusion at Work | Julie Agashiwala | TEDxRiverdale

Julie Agashiwala opens by asking the audience to imagine life without work—the place where we spend most waking hours, interact with colleagues, and find purpose. She then presents a stark reality: 8 million people in the United States have intellectual and developmental disabilities, yet only a fraction are employed in ordinary jobs, leaving over 6 million without employment, income, colleagues, or daily purpose because society deemed them unable to perform.

Café Joyeux emerged in 2017 with a transformative idea: coffee shops offering real, customer-facing jobs to people with cognitive disabilities through structured training and supervision that maximizes all abilities. Agashiwala explains that while the employment statistics for people with cognitive disabilities are slowly improving, the more profound impact has been how these jobs change lives across multiple circles.

For crew members, employment at Café Joyeux creates a fundamental shift in identity and self-perception. When a barista greets customers, their posture changes—they become "the barista, the colleague, the one making your morning possible" rather than being defined by their disability. Research from ESC Business School in Paris found that most crew members report feeling significantly more useful since working at the café, with usefulness being described not as a performance metric but as a fundamental human need. For many, this first job represents "a first yes from the world" and "a first we need you."

Beyond employees, families experience profound changes. While families traditionally express concern about their loved one's future prospects, relatives of Café Joyeux employees report feeling both prouder and less worried. More significantly, most family members discover abilities in their loved ones they had never previously imagined, fundamentally reshaping how they envision their relative's present and future potential.

Supervisors, called "skippers" at Café Joyeux, undergo their own transformation. Their role demands rapid adaptation, teaching, and support—assigning tasks based on individual strengths, managing complex situations, and coordinating with job coaches and families. Agashiwala describes the environment as "an accelerator of human leadership," where skippers learn to accompany human potential rather than simply manage shifts.

Finally, customers and society experience a shift in perspective. Busy professionals entering the café with rushed attitudes visibly slow down, relax, and engage more warmly with staff. They leave with changed behavior, treating others differently because they've witnessed inclusion working in practice. This behavioral change represents a crucial moment where people recognize that if a café can practice inclusion, anyone can.