InView November 2010 Issue
Disabled Fall Behind in Companies' Attempts to Diversify
Although corporations recognize that hiring employees with disabilities is important, most are hiring very few of these job seekers and few are proactively making efforts to improve the employment environment, according to a survey sponsored by Kessler Foundation and National Organization on Disability (NOD). These results are especially important given the focus on employment by media and government and with October recognized as National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Data released in July 2010 from an earlier study found that little progress has been made in closing the employment gap between people with and without disabilities since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. In fact, only 21 percent of people with disabilities, ages 18 to 64, reported that they are working either full- or part-time, compared to 59 percent of people without disabilities.
The latest survey reveals that although 70 percent of those polled have diversity policies or programs in place, only two-thirds of those with programs include disability as a component. Only 18 percent of organizations offer an education program aimed at integrating people with disabilities into the workplace. The low figures are particularly notable given that a majority of employers perceive the costs of hiring a person with a disability to be the same as hiring a person without a disability (62 percent).
This marks the third effort since 1986 to determine the current attitudes of corporate employers toward employees with disabilities. The survey by Kessler, NOD, and Harris Interactive also found:
- One in five companies (19 percent) has a specific person or department that oversees the hiring of people with disabilities. This is in contrast to 1995 when 40 percent of companies hired someone specifically for this reason.
- Only seven percent of companies with disability programs offer a disability affinity group.
- The number of new hires in the past three years who were people with disabilities averaged two percent.
"These numbers are disappointing but give us deeper insight into the findings of the earlier survey," said Humphrey Taylor, Chairman of The Harris Poll and member of the NOD board. "The survey released focused on the gaps between people living with and without disabilities across 10 different areas. That survey showed that the largest gap was employment. Much work remains to be done in order to improve these numbers. We need employers and the disability community to work together to take action on both sides."
To review the complete survey, visit www.2010DisabilitySurveys.org