
Why is disability inclusion so important in business?
There are 1.3 billion people in the world living with a disability. This is the largest minority group on the planet. In Ireland there are well over 650,000 people living with a disability, which represents the largest minority group in this country.
Putting these figures into context, in Ireland 1 person in 7 has a disability. If you are reading this article in any professional or public space, there is almost undoubtedly someone with a disability within speaking distance.
Having worked within the area of disability employment as a Disability Employment Facilitator, Company Coordinator and Development Manager since 2008, I have engaged hundreds of employers while representing service users with a wide range of disabilities. Irrespective of the level of good will on behalf of those employers, too often their positive efforts were frustrated by the widespread lack of disability awareness in Irish workplaces. This lack of awareness results in misconception, miscommunication, misinformation and inevitably further marginalisation.
The unfortunate reality is that in Ireland at present, people with disabilities still lack significant employment opportunities when compared to their non-disabled peers. Research indicates that people with disabilities are less than half as likely to be in employment. According to Eurostat, people with disabilities in Ireland have the highest chance of living in poverty and social exclusion in Western Europe. This noticeably outranks Poland, Germany, the UK, France and Spain. The chances of a person with a disability in Ireland living in poverty has shamefully more doubled in the last twenty years. In 2011, the chances of someone with a disability living in poverty was at 11%. By November 2019, this had risen to 24%.
It seems almost paradoxical that in a country which was almost at full employment prior to the pandemic, our largest minority group had a steadily increasing chance of underemployment, living in poverty and suffering from social exclusion. There is undoubtedly a disability employment gap at present and aligned closely to this disability employment gap is the disability knowledge gap. Addressing this knowledge gap will have both economic and societal benefits.
Equitable opportunities provided by willing employers is a significant step towards reducing the disability employment gap. Ensuring your business welcomes disability within the workplace is not only the right thing to do, but it also genuinely brings a host of proven economic, cultural and social benefits, which we will touch on during this guide.
People with disabilities are no different to those without a disability. Most want equitable employment opportunities. Employment offers financial freedom as well as a greater purpose. It offers social outlets as well as continual learning and development opportunities. Most of us take these for granted, so why should people with disabilities be denied these basic rights?
It is no secret that many companies in Ireland are reluctant to engage people with disabilities as employees. The recruitment of people with disabilities is often viewed as 'risky' and 'too much hassle' for some. Employers worry about legal issues if the job doesn't work out, or insurance issues if the employee with a disability has an accident in the workplace. Management express concerns around absenteeism and disability related illness, while accounts departments fear the financial cost of accommodations. Again, these beliefs are intertwined with misconception, misinformation and miscommunication resulting in entrenched marginalisation.
For companies who do hire employees with disabilities, many see it as 'the right thing to do'. This is a positive and appreciated step. But are these positive action measures seen as a genuinely impactful part of their talent strategy? In many cases, no. It is one thing for a company's management team to say they wish to be more diverse, but it is another to be inclusive.
For a successful recruitment and retention disability policy to work, it needs to be a company wide effort. It must be a cross departmental, leveraging experience and interest from all areas of the business including senior management, human resources, IT, talent acquisition teams as well as general employees.
Business should aim to showcase disability in the workplace. Equal opportunity should be an obvious part of company culture. Diversity should be truly diverse, and not 'Diverse-ish', a term coined by Caroline Casey of The Valuable 500. Diversish is a partially tongue in cheek reference to organisations who focus on diversity. It states that organisations should promote all minority groups equally, not just groups who don't carry the stigma of reduced capacity and disproportionate accommodations.
Many companies who focus on diversity primarily reference gender balance, LGBTQ+ and ethnic minorities and so on... Yet disability still seems to be further down what may be a hierarchical structure of diversity. 90% of companies worldwide claim to prioritise diversity, yet only 4% prioritise disability. This needs to be addressed.
At Ability Focus, we believe the primary barrier and main disabling factor in the lives of many willing job seekers in Ireland is the pervasive lack of disability awareness in Irish workplaces. With equitable employment being an important goal, companywide awareness of disability is the key component in ensuring longevity of inclusive best practice. Increasing awareness and reducing this disability knowledge gap will lead to greater opportunities for talented people with disabilities.
If you are interested in finding out more about how you can be a disability inclusive organisation contact Ability Focus on (01) 699 1150 or email info@abilityfocus.ie