6 min reading time

Was talking with a Wharton classmate of mine.

Her “day job” is project management but she has a non-profit organization to raise awareness of diabetes on the side.

She’s considering “coming out” as a Type I Diabetic but she’s afraid it will carry a stigma that will turn off prospective employers… perhaps they don’t want the health insurance risk, etc?

As a marketer, I think she can position her diabetes as part of her brand. She’s unsure.

Is she right to be concerned? I’d love to hear from diabetics and HR personnel on this.

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Robert Poyser
QA & RA Manager at Henry Schein
Roman; We all work for salary but do we compromise ourselves for the top salary or take a lesser one and have good work environment and conditions. I’ve done the top salary thing and I prefer the lesser salary rout (assuming you have an option). with reference to disclosure of medical conditions, I disclose my Diabetes as there are times I need to go to hospital for blood tests and to medical reviews (in UK it happens during the working week) This way my employer is aware and agrees I can make these appointments, without my employer wondering why I take time Off!!! True medial conditions are private and if there is no impact on your job/employment then they should stay that way.
Concerning managing and treatment of diabetes, I have found the most uninformed are doctors, they know their drugs but little else and just keep dosing people up, when CORRECT diet and health management can help alleviate the condition ( the general advice is don’t take sugar and swallow these pills).

Mikel Condie Curry
Care Management Consultant; Lover of Data
As a T1D I have chosen both paths. Currently, it has served me well to make my disease known. Eventually, colleagues discover you have T1. If it can help you because of the experience it provides, make it known. If not, it will certainly come out eventually. No need to divulge in an interview. There is often times a stigma: I believe it is up to me to change the outdated ideas about diabetes. Especially T1. Good opportunity to educate.

Roman Liberson
orthopedic surgeon, low frequency ultrasound applicator
Robert, one works for salary, not for being in good friendly environment. As I remember, no one can re rejected due to chronic illness, AIDS is an example. Don’t inform about Your disease, is is private information.
By the way, would we start something concerning diabetes to discuss. I found here at list two companies dealing with this field. I work for diabetic foot prevention, treatment, management and so on. DM and its complications is a wide field and cooperation here may be fruitful.

Robert Poyser
QA & RA Manager at Henry Schein
If you are working for a medical based/type company or any company for that matter, and they do not have an understanding or tolerance for someone’s medical condition (What ever the condition), do you really want to work for them!!!
As long at the condition does not impede that person from doing an acceptable job, what’s the problem, no ones perfect, least of all me:-)

Chuck M Calvert, MBA
Execution is the competitive Advantage.
Diabetes, my career patient facing, contracting/ hospitals, bids w/Gov’t, it’s one disease a patient has control over choices vs. no choice radiation or surgery to fix/replace etc. Embrace the opportunity to have dialogue, educate both adults and children who mis-understand, share “just the facts” mam…

Su Pramono
Branch Manager at Pt Sekarguna medika
I think this is not problem of stigma , but who is more important is how the management control of blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 or type 2. When the problem this can be overcome continuously , the risk of complications can be avoided.

Aneela Idnani Kumar
HabitAware CoFounder – President, Design+Marketing
Non-HR person here. Also non-diabetic, but I do suffer from other health conditions. I would focus interviews on my skills & what I bring to the table. All other personal information should not be relevant & may impact decision-making, even if subconsciously. This is why there are questions that are illegal for an interviewer to ask – marital status, children, religious beliefs, pregnancy, etc.). The ONLY situation in which I would share a medical condition is if I was interviewing at a company that works on a solution for said condition. In this case, my personal experience would add additional value.

Marc Rippen
CEO Alertgy, working to improve the lives of diabetics through technical innovation
My wife is a nurse and she doesn’t tell anyone during interviews about her type 2 diabetes, but once she is working she tells her associates when they ask her about when she is having a high or low sugar event. People tend to admire folks that can function in-spite of this kind of disease. I am working to commercialize a non intrusive blood sugar monitor enabled by a wrist band sensor and a smart phone. Check out www.alertgy.com. Go to the technology page and watch the short video. The Alertgy technology will make it easier for diabetics to manage themselves real time. Lets help each other.. once I get funded and going we may be able to support your organization if its a non profit… and our device will help those that need it live a better more controlled life so lets #StopThePrick… best regards… Marc

Harish Kapoor
Venture Partner at FundRx
There are ways to control T2D: https://medstro.com/posts/4070

David Lim, Ph.D. RAC, CQA
FDA Consultant Speaker | Drugs, Biologics, Medical Devices & IVDs, Combination Products, 483s, & FDA Inspection
When one tells about a disease or a symptom, it is important to recognize potential consequences under the circumstances (personal risk management per se). When a billionaire talks about his diabetes can be very different from when someone for an job interview talks about his/her diabetes. For me, I personally admire those openly talking about his diabetes or symptoms.

Scott Yasi
Associate Representative Terumo BCT
Only tell HR after you are past the probation period, I know I was not given a fair shake when I spoke about my disease with a previous medical manufacture and would hate for anyone else to go through a similar experience.

Ben Krieger
Business Development at BestNest Inc.
I have seen that it can be more than a simple stigma to overcome with a savvy interview plan. Chronic illness continue to be a huge driver of cost increases that employers trying to overcome trying provide cost effective health care coverage for their employees. If there is a tight race for a role and one candidate has a known chronic illness, and the other does not, well….

Harish Kapoor
Venture Partner at FundRx
By 2020, every other person in U.S. could be diabetic or pre-diabetic. This has been the cause of concern that serious health complications that often result from diabetes, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and neuropathy, could overwhelm our medical delivery system.

It can’t be a stigma, if you educate your self on how to manage it. T2D is purely a lifestyle disease. Our group is involved in developing a non-invasive, drug free therapeutic device to prevent, control and reverse T2D.

Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Thank you for these, and more voices welcome. I encouraged her to embrace her condition and perhaps your comments will push her in that direction.

Ian Sayers
3D Scanner Product Manager at Hawk Ridge Systems
I would say as far as corporate attitudes go, they will vary based on the country and the structure of the corresponding health care system. That being said, I personally don’t see much of a stigma. I’m sure there are varying societal attitudes as well, but if someone is ignorant enough to harbor prejudice against people with diabetes, they aren’t worth worrying about.

Angelica Khachaturova
Business Development, Marketing, Sales | Digital Health, Medical Devices and Healthcare IT
I think the question here is not about being diabetic, but about how to manage this or that stigma. At the end people around will see you through your own glasses. I had colleagues and partners living with diabetes (both T1 and T2) and no one of them made any issue of their condition. We all have been seeing their daily routine and it was like any routine of any other person. Unfortunately, in the modern society most of us are either diabetic, or pre-diabetic, or know someone living with diabetes. I would advise to get rid of the stigma, like I would advise to any blonde woman not being afraid of driving. Just be yourself.

Sam S.
Entrepreneur | Innovation Leader | Product Manager | Agile Transformation
I think it can strengthen her brand and her diabetes awareness foundation. It shows that it is a cause that stems from personal experience. While I do not have Diabetes, I know quite a few family members and friends that have it. None of them are shy of it, nor does anyone look at them different for having it.

David Lim, Ph.D. RAC, CQA
FDA Consultant Speaker | Drugs, Biologics, Medical Devices & IVDs, Combination Products, 483s, & FDA Inspection
Yes, it can be a stigma to some people, but it shouldn’t be the stigma. No need to disclose unless it is required or obligated to. #RegulatoryDoctor

Robert Poyser
QA & RA Manager at Henry Schein
I’m a Type 2 border type 1, still on tablets (maximum), I don’t think of it as defining who I am, and I’m open about being Diabetic………… in any case there’s a lot of it about…. I have a eye condition too but like many others, standard prescription glasses manage that. Stigma’s are other peoples lack of understanding and that’s their condition that needs managing.

Hudson Keel
District Representative at Nalco Water, An Ecolab Company
I’m a type 1 and have certainly used my management of the disease in interviews to demonstrate effective management skills, perseverance, unwillingness to let life’s challenges slow me down or stop me from pursuing all my important goals. Diabetes sucks but your friend likely has many useful skills she wouldn’t have ever realized without the disease, I say acknowledge it and prove she can do anything she wants!