Breaking Barriers and Building Inclusion: International Day of Persons with Disabilities
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What is International Day of Persons with Disabilities?
International Day of Persons with Disabilities was first established by the United Nations in 1992, and takes place on December 3rd each year.
The purpose of International Day of Persons with Disabilities is to help raise awareness around disabilities, promote an understanding of challenges, create equal opportunities for disabled individuals, and celebrate their achievements and contributions to society.
In light of this, it is important that we raise awareness of the barriers that disabled individuals can face in the workplace and promote ways of building inclusive practices within organisations.
What is the significance of International Day of Persons with Disabilities?
According to research by the House of Commons, approximately 16 million people have a disability in the United Kingdom, which represents 24% of the total population. Additionally, approximately 9.6 million individuals of working age reported they were disabled, representing 23% of the working age population.
These statistics show that disabled individuals make up a significant part of our population, which is one of the reasons that raising awareness, breaking down the barriers they experience, and incorporating inclusive practices, should be a key part of organisations’ agendas.
What are some key challenges faced by disabled individuals?
In 2023, the employment gap between disabled and non-disabled individuals was reported to be 29% in the UK. Whilst this gap has started to close over the last 10 years there is still an issue regarding employability for disabled individuals.
Disabled employees are also more likely to experience a pay gap at work - According to a survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics in 2021, it was reported that autistic employees experienced a pay gap of up to 33.5%, and disabled employees with severe or specific learning difficulties experienced a gap of up to 29.7%.
These gaps can stem from barriers that are present within many organisations, including:
1. Bias in the recruitment process
Unconscious bias may be present, particularly during the hiring process. This is where a judgement is made against an individual or group that is unfair without awareness that we are doing it. This may result in the perceptions that disabled individuals may ‘not be able’ to perform at work.
Some disabled candidates may require adjustments during the hiring process, to give them the same opportunity as other candidates to succeed. This may include additional time, accessibility (such as step-free access), or adaptations to the assessment/interview.. However, in reality, some organisations may not offer or implement these requirements, which can then put potential candidates at a significant disadvantage.
2. Limited education and awareness about disabilities and neurodifferences
Disabled individuals may experience additional challenges in the workplace, which may require them to have additional time off, need more resources to support them at work, or require accessibility through equipment or adjustments. These challenges often result from inflexible working practices or non-inclusive work environments. However, unaddressed stigma that may be deep-rooted from societal beliefs, can add to the idea of these individuals ‘not being able’ to perform at work, or creating a ‘burden’ for colleagues.
3. Lack of accessibility and adjustments in the workplace
Some disabled individuals may require adjustments and support for them to be able to work comfortably, effectively, and with ease. However, many organisations lack the right policies and procedures to ensure that these are available.
Examples of these include supportive equipment (e.g., ergonomic equipment), environment accommodations (e.g., accessible access, or quieter work areas), and reasonable adjustments (e.g., flexible working hours). As a result, disabled individuals can experience barriers to gaining the right support, which can in-turn impact their wellbeing, performance, and retention.
What initiatives can organisations take to promote inclusion and accessibility for disabled individuals?
1. Raise awareness
Organisations can start to change the narrative around disability throughout their culture. This can include raising awareness about disabilities, such as how to support disabled individuals, the impact it may have for some individuals at work, the adjustments and support that organisations can implement to support disabled individuals, and the value of a diverse workforce.
2. Advocate for accessibility
There are multiple accessibility accommodations that can be made to support disabled individuals. These may include environment adjustments, greater flexibility at work, and also reasonable adjustments to support with challenges that individuals experience. It is important that these are offered at all stages of the employee’s lifecycle, from attraction to separation.
Implementing accessibility into organisational practices, through developing the right policies and procedures can help to minimise the disadvantages that disabled individuals can experience in the workplace.
3. Celebrate achievements
Whilst disabled persons may experience challenges that can impact them at work, organisations should make a conscious effort to celebrate their achievements when they have overcome hardships, challenges, and excelled in their roles.
Celebrating when your people have done well, is a great initiative to showcase that your organisation is inclusive and supportive, which can empower individuals and build their self-confidence. It can also help to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about disabled people.
4. Share stories and lived experiences
Personal experiences are invaluable when it comes to helping others, whether this is sharing a journey that an individual has gone through (if they feel comfortable to do so), such as accessing support or adjustments to help them thrive at work, or sharing the experiences of those who are managing and supporting individuals.
These stories highlight the successes of individuals and can empower individuals to feel more able to share their stories, speak up when they need support, help to celebrate differences, and feel included within the organisation’s culture.
5. Partner with expert organisations
There are many organisations who are working proactively to make significant changes to support disabled individuals. For example, the Business Disability Forum offers resources that can help individuals to understand more about the support they are entitled to, and how organisations can support disabled individuals effectively.
Organisations also need to invest in their people and ensure that they are being inclusive to all. Partnering with experts can be a useful step to ensuring that organisations are implementing the right practices to support disabled employees.
What is the impact of being inclusive for disabled individuals?
Inclusion is about ensuring that everyone despite their abilities, feel appreciated, understood, and welcomed as part of the community.
Organisations that take the right steps towards creating inclusion for disabled individuals by offering the right adjustments and practices, can help them to feel included and a sense of belonging, but also can help to minimise the challenges that they experience at work. This can result in better opportunities for success.
Minimising challenges means that individuals may be more comfortable at work and are more likely to want to stay within the organisation. This can be beneficial to staff wellbeing and retention. In addition, this can be beneficial to the organisation’s reputation, as externally they can advocate as a disability-friendly employer.
Get involved – it is important that organisations take action now to promote inclusion and support towards disabled individuals. Start today by celebrating and raising awareness on internationals day of persons with disabilities.
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