The job industry is a diverse sector of a society full of people from different religions, cultures, and backgrounds. Furthermore, having a job can not only boost our self-esteem, but also give us a sense of identity, enables us to learn new skills, meet new people, and somewhat secures our future by providing income, which of course is probably most people’s main incentive to join a job in the first instance. Essentially, there are many benefits of joining the job industry. However, while the job industry may seem perfect, it is far from such. It has many issues that are continuing to evolve as society progresses, one of the biggest ones being discrimination.
Many forms of discrimination exist in the job industry. Namely discrimination based on culture, race, gender, and sexuality. Over the past few years, large amounts of attention and effort have been directed towards reducing these issues that have become embedded so deeply in the roots of the job industry. I have personally seen this through online media, as well as, discussions in school and amongst peers. While these areas of discrimination have been heavily reduced, as a result of countless movements, protests, laws, and policies being passed. One area, which has not received as much attention as the others, remains quite prominent in the job industry - discrimination against people with disabilities. Disability discrimination is seen as treating individuals differently in employment due to their disability, perceived disability, or association with a disabled person. An estimated 470 million of the world’s working population have some form of disability. These such people often experience common patterns of discrimination. They suffer high unemployment rates, are excluded from the labor market and are confronted with prejudices regarding their productivity. They also face discrimination at the hiring stage. A survey conducted in France shows that less than 2% of people who mentioned having a disability in their CV were called for an interview.
Fig. 1 from (https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/17-9-percent-of-people-with-a-disability-employed-in-2020.htm)
This graph from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a comparison between the percentages of people employed from the working population of those with and without a disability across multiple age groups. As it is an American source, the data presented may only apply to America. Nonetheless, it still paints a shocking picture of the employment struggles that people with disabilities face, which carry over to places outside of America.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 19.3% of people with a disability were employed in 2019. In contrast, the employment-to-population ratio for people without a disability was 66.3%, a much higher figure. This data shows how unwilling employers are to hire people with a disability. The reason for this unwillingness from the employers is because they fear the cost associated with hiring PWDs (people with disabilities). Despite the efforts of the American Disabilities Act(ADA) of 1995 to help level the playing field and create equal opportunities for PWDs, there is still an education gap in the workforce. Many employers jump to the conclusion that upon hiring a PWD, they would be required to spend thousands of dollars bringing their business up to ADA standard, which few businesses are willing to do. Fortunately, this is not the case. A recent report from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) projects that 20% of employer accommodations cost nothing and 80% cost less than $500.
Another fear employers have in regards to hiring PWDs is the fear of additional supervision and loss of productivity - what effect a person with a disability would have on the workplace. This fear can be viewed as two major components. First, employers are concerned about the amount of time and attention they would need to devote to a worker with a disability, subsequently giving them less time to fulfill their other duties. The second is the employer’s concern regarding the productivity of the PWD. Other fears that contribute to employers’ unwillingness to hire PWDs include the fear of being stuck forever - which is essentially the fear that if the job doesn’t work out, it would be difficult for the business to terminate their working relationship with the PWD as they are a protected class. There may also be the fear of damaged goods.
Fig. 2 from (https://www.thebalancecareers.com/types-of-employment-discrimination-with-examples-2060914)
This image from The Balance shows that 24,238 or 33.4% of all instances of workplace discrimination in 2020 were against individuals with a disability, making PWDs the most targeted minority for workplace discrimination that year.
In addition to high unemployment rates, PWDs often encounter harassment and prejudice in their jobs, which often takes place in the form of intimidation and verbal abuse, coming from colleagues, supervisors, or third parties. Commonly reported practices against PWDs include harassing performance monitoring procedures, micro-management, over-attribution of mistakes, as well as behaviors intended to negatively impact the targeted PWD’s sense of competence and accomplishment. Moreover, some perpetrators in workplaces target individuals with certain impairments, such as putting up physical barriers to make movement around the workplace more difficult for wheelchair users, making fun of the way a worker with a speech impairment talks or intentionally bumping into visually impaired individuals. Acts of violence and harassment against PWDs are linked to negative stereotypes about their productivity and behavior in the workplace. This type of discriminatory behavior is childish and inhumane, and it is shocking to see it being exhibited in professional workplaces. More focus should be placed on identifying and reporting workplace harassment towards PWDs, as well as eradicating ableist attitudes and creating more inclusive workplaces.
With that said, what is being done to make workplaces more inclusive towards PWDs? In America federal laws, such as the ADA, have been established to protect individuals with disabilities against violence and harassment, and many American states enforce their laws that protect people with disabilities, in addition to the federal laws. Other countries also have their laws to protect PWDs - similar to the ones in America, like the Employment Claims Act and the Retirement and Re-employment Act in Singapore. Aside from relying on laws and rules set by the government, there are many steps that companies can take towards preventing discrimination against PWDs in their workplaces. For one, they can encourage inclusive behavior by providing ways for staff to share their experiences of living with a disability, make the workplace more accessible, and give information to disabled staff, customers, and job applicants in formats that they can easily access and understand.
Another thing companies can do is to train staff on recognising and dealing with disability discrimination in their workplace. Last, but not least, companies should create ways for staff to be heard. This means setting up a formal group or network for disabled staff to share their experiences, concerns, and support each other, as well as, actively listening to their complaints and acting on them. If companies truly follow these procedures, the problem of disability discrimination may be resolved, and the future job industry will be one where PWDs stand on equal footing with others and are treated with the basic respect and humanity that they deserve.
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