Disability and Equity at Work

Abstract

Despite international and national guarantees of equal rights, there is still a great deal of work to be done to achieve equality in employment globally for individuals with disabilities. In Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation countries, the employment rate of persons with disabilities was just greater than 40%, compared with 75% for persons without a disability, and in many low- and middle-income countries the employment rates were even lower. There are many reasons why persons with disabilities fare poorly in the labor market. Some have to do with inequitable access to resources that matter for work, including access to education and credit and funding, as well as physical access to buildings and transportation. Employers tend to underestimate the productivity of a worker with a disability and overestimate the cost of an alternate work arrangement, and are unaware of public policies and programs designed to address potential challenges. Disability and Equity at Work is the first book to document what can be done to improve the employment situation of persons with disabilities around the world. Increasing employment rates makes economic sense. Some estimates put the forgone income of having people with disabilities outside the labor market at about 5% to 7% of a given country’s gross domestic product. Disability and Equity at Work identifies successful strategies at every stage of a worker’s career. Bringing together evidence-based recommendations and in-depth case studies of successful policies and programs around the world, this edited volume provides innovative and effective solutions to the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in the job market. Chapter contributors include leaders from international organizations, government, civil society, and academia, including experts from United Nations agencies, national governments and regional bodies, leaders in nongovernmental advocacy and research organizations, and senior academics in the field.