As National Disability Employment Awareness Month comes to an end, many disability leaders have pointed out how much progress disabled workers have made since the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990. Despite advancements, disabled workers still face barriers to success and employers can do more.
Employment. The current unemployment rate of disabled workers is 7.2%, a record low since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the figure in 2009 and down from a high of 15% in 2012, according to the Center for American Progress. These record gains in recent years are thanks to assistive technologies and the increased availability of remote work, HR Brew previously reported.
However, even at its lowest rate, the unemployment rate for disabled people is still double the rate for the non-disabled population, and disabled people are twice as likely to work part-time. Disabled workers also report discrimination in the interview process, and job applicants frequently aren’t sure if employers will offer accommodations.
Disability representation and inclusion. Some companies have started tracking disability representation in recent years as disability inclusion has become a bigger part of DE&I initiatives. Boeing, Hubspot, and Microsoft, for example, report that over 7% of their employees identify as disabled. However, the 2024 Disability Equality Index examining the demographics of more than 500 companies found that just 4% of workers identify as disabled. These representation numbers have seen little progress since 2019, even though nearly one in five Americans has a disability, HR Brew previously reported.
Disability-focused employee resource groups (ERGs) are one tool companies are using to reduce the stigma still associated with disability and increase inclusion. Some 89% of companies now have a disability ERG.
Until now, employers have largely centered their reasoning for hiring disabled people on the business case, but Keely Cat-Wells, founder and CEO of Making Space, a disability-focused talent acquisition platform, hopes that mindset will change. “We have to stop looking at disability inclusion solely through a lens of ROI or a business case because that devalues people,” she told HR Brew. “It turns inclusion into a transactional, profit-driven strategy rather than recognizing it as a human right.”
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Accommodations. Reasonable accommodations are not only required by law, but allow disabled employees to do their best work. Physical accommodations, like inclusive bathrooms, step-free offices, and ergonomic design, are helpful to people with mobility disabilities. Meanwhile, technology, like screen readers, closed captioning, and speech aids, can allow workers to communicate more easily, and flexible work options are key for neurodivergent workers and people with chronic illnesses to work effectively.
Yet, access to accommodations remains a barrier for many disabled workers who are the subject of lawsuits brought by the EEOC every year. Many employers are concerned about the potential costs, but the average accommodation is less than $500 and resources are available for HR leaders with questions, we previously reported.
Looking ahead. Despite the various gains made by disabled workers, there’s a lot of room for progress so they are included, equal members of the workforce. Reports show they remain less happy at work, have fewer opportunities for career advancement, and earn less than their non-disabled peers.
“Employers need to build intentional, accessible, and clear career pathways for disabled employees,” Cat-Wells said, emphasizing the importance of self-identification among senior leaders. “There is a significant shortage of visible disabled role models in senior leadership positions across many sectors and this lack of representation affects the aspirations of disabled people and perpetuates a cycle where leadership paths seem inaccessible to those who are disabled.”
Companies that want to be truly inclusive should see disability inclusion as a core component of everything they do, Cat-Wells added. “It should be embedded into the DNA of the company. Whether it’s talent acquisition, product development, marketing, or customer service, accessibility must be baked in,” she said. “When it’s siloed, it becomes an afterthought, something that's addressed only when there's a problem. And this limits opportunities for disabled employees and customers.”