Disability As Diversity: The Right To Be Ordinary

By Sonia Yee

When asked about his favourite pastime, Paul Curry beams, ‘teaching and meditation.’

“There’s a lot of pressure out there in today’s society and a lot of stress especially at this time when people have lost their stability,” he says.

In an environment filled with uncertainty and people increasingly prescribed anti-anxiety medication, he says teaching meditation and mindfulness has been rewarding.

“People come in wound up and they leave relaxed. It’s a beautiful thing!”

Paul Curry (MInstD) is no stranger to stress in demanding roles. He has been Chief Executive of the Families Commission, General Manager of the Department of Internal Affairs Community Development Group and Director of Advocacy under the Health and Disability Commissioner, among others.

Passionate about making a difference in the community, he was, until recently serving on 11 different boards. Over the past two decades this has included Panamac Enterprises Ltd, Deputy Chair - Momenta Charitable Trust, Convener BOP Inclusive Employment Task Force and DHB advisory group.

But the difference between Paul Curry and other directors around the boardroom table is that Curry brings his own chair - he has been on wheels now for 52 years.

While serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1969 he went from being a fit and healthy 19-year-old to a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down.

A 180kg anti-submarine mortar bomb fell on him - a moment that changed his life forever.

Candid, intelligent and thoughtful, Curry is open about his disability. But it’s hard to know whether that has come as a result of laughing in the face of adversity, or whether it’s something more innate.

Married with two children, he lives in the Bay of Plenty and has been an active member of the New Zealand Paraplegic Boat team. One of his sporting highlights was representing New Zealand at the Commonwealth Paralympic Games at Edinburgh in 1970.

“It’s a funny thing because when you reflect over those years, people say to you, ‘what would have been doing if you hadn't broken your back?”

Curry doesn’t have a definitive answer, but says it’s not about his legs.

“My legs are no more important to me than what I have actually learnt over that time...you can call it resilience really.”

Curry has been able to utilise that resilience in boardroom discussions, especially on issues that people don’t understand.

“To be able to set strategy and encourage your management to then build the organisation to meet your strategy and think into the future is a fantastic thing!” he says.

The very first board he joined was the Wellington Paraplegic Disabled Trust Board’ which is still closest to his heart. He describes it as a small disability trust, which his father and a few friends set up.

In its early days it raised several million dollars and was established to quietly fund those with disabilities through an annual scholarship grant. It also assisted with associated study costs like buying computers or contributing to university accommodation.

Curry has been on the board for 40 years and although it’s the smallest board he has ever chaired it’s the one that brings the most joy and satisfaction.

“Its impact over that time for individuals has been amazing,” he says.

Discrimination comes with the package

According to a survey conducted by Momenta, 27 percent of the New Zealand population has some form of disability, whether visible or invisible.

Those with a disability are 50 percent less likely than others to gain employment and are five times more likely than anyone else to experience violence or discrimination, both in and out of the home.

With his obvious point of difference, Curry is quick to acknowledge how people perceive him and says over time the view on disability has transitioned along with the different models relating to health and charity.

“People with disabilities were expected to be thankful for what they were given by way of charity,” he says.

At the time of his accident the charity model was in place and there was no such thing as Accident Compensation. Instead, it was the Rotary and Lions clubs that were called on to help vulnerable people in the community.

“Then the health model saw those with disabilities as sick, but now we’re in the human rights model, which says those of us with a disability want the right to be ordinary,” he says.

That means not being treated differently, but fairly, and having the same rights to achieve in education and employment.

Curry has an intimate understanding of what it’s like to be judged and seen as ‘incapable.’ But he is also aware of how his identity plays into what people feel comfortable with, and says knowing ‘how to play the game’ has helped him on his path to creating change.

“I am the ideal token,” he says of ticking the boxes that boards have looked to in the past.

A straight shooter, Curry isn’t afraid to say it like it is, that being ‘Pakeha and male’ has come with privileges.

“I’m a white, middle-class male, I’m reasonably articulate and I didn’t go too far outside the boxes. I knew the world wasn’t going to change immediately. But I could also change things from the inside out, so that’s part of the game.”

But playing the game aside, how far are we from having boards that are truly inclusive and does that even matter?

While boards should ultimately represent the communities they serve, Curry says expecting change to happen overnight will only lead to disappointment and that any change needs to happen gradually over time.

He says people shouldn’t feel guilty if their board is struggling to meet diversity goals or targets, and suggests boards seek advice from agencies who have connections with the disabilities community to navigate concerns or issues.

Joining a board

Those from the disabilities community have remained largely absent from boardrooms and Curry sees a need for governance training opportunities in order to combat this.

He says cadetships are a great entry way to get your feet wet because they often lead to official board appointments later down the track. Leadership agencies such as Be.Lab also provide advice and offer development programmes for people with disabilities.

Importantly, Curry says emerging directors should look at where they are now and bring their unique experience and perspectives to the table, rather than looking at what he, or others have achieved, which only creates self-doubt.

“Because you'll run the board differently, and you’re the right person for the board right now.”

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