Why Sickle Cell Disease Is a Workplace Issue, Not Just a Health One.
Every September, Sickle Cell Awareness Month asks the public to understand a condition that has been part of Black communities for generations but has only recently started getting the attention, funding and workplace consideration it deserves.
For Black women in particular, who are disproportionately likely to be both patients and primary caregivers, sickle cell disease (SCD) sits at an exhausting intersection. An invisible illness, layered onto a healthcare system that too often does not believe their pain, layered onto workplaces that were not built with fluctuating, unpredictable conditions in mind.
Invisible Illness Meets Invisible Bias
SCD is the UK's most common and fastest-growing genetic blood disorder, affecting an estimated 15,000–17,500 people, with around 250 new cases diagnosed each year. It predominantly affects people of Black African and Caribbean heritage. The disease itself is punishing. Rigid, sickle-shaped red…
