The Global Field answers pressing questions from our grantees, addressing their on-the-field challenges. We guide and offer support to our partners and stakeholders. We further help navigate common community organizational issues.

If you have a question to ask the Global Field, contact us, and you can see your questions posted in a future issue!

Your Question:

Recently Directors and HR staff in my organization came to the realization that we have not developed a plan for disability inclusion in our employment and recruiting practices. In 2023 we intend to correct this oversight. What should we know when building out our disability inclusion strategies at work?

Our Response:

When it comes to providing fair employment opportunities, there are simple steps we can adhere to help provide a level playing field for every applicant.

Creating a culture of disability inclusion in the workplace

Around 1 billion people—15% of the world’s population—live with disabilities. This makes them the world’s largest minority. Up to 80% of disabilities are acquired between the working ages of 18 to 64, but only 50% of these people will get hired. Add to that the reality that they’re likely to be employed in menial jobs, underpaid, overlooked for promotion, and excluded from wage and other negotiations. On the whole, our societal systems are created primarily for those without disabilities.

Leading disability employers know that bringing disabled team members on board isn’t an act of benevolence or proper compliance. It’s the right thing to do all around.

8 hiring tips to support disability inclusion in the workplace

1. Write it into your recruitment policy

Writing disability employment into your recruitment policy is essential to get buy-in from hiring managers, recruiters, and your workforce.

2. Implement anti-discrimination and disability inclusion training

People with disabilities fall into all categories of discrimination. Their race, sex, age, and population demographics are used in addition to their disability to justify not hiring them.

3. Conduct a workplace safety audit

Have a thorough safety audit done on all work areas within your organization.

Depending on their disability, people will need specific considerations. Identify areas that are disability-friendly and make structural changes to areas that aren’t.

4. Budget for new furniture, hardware, and software

It’s much easier to accommodate a disabled employee than most people think.

A bigger computer screen and voice-to-text software are required to hire a partially sighted person. Deaf employees need nothing more than a standard workstation, and they can communicate internally and externally via chat and email. An employee who uses a wheelchair might require a desk that can be set higher or lower and a bit more space around them.

5. Include people with disabilities in internships

Set an annual quota for interns with disabilities. Whether you run annual or ongoing internship programs, make it mandatory that people with disabilities must be included.

6. Use blind hiring techniques

A blind hiring program helps eliminate hiring biases and is particularly relevant to disability recruitment.

If a disabled applicant makes it onto the shortlist, they’re there on merit.

Depending on the disability, the recruiter who’s facilitating the interview process doesn’t need to reveal to the hiring team that the candidate is disabled. This can be quite straightforward if interviews are done via video. When it comes to making a hiring decision, the disability can be discussed. Collaborative hiring will strengthen fair and transparent decisions.

7. Equal pay and benefits

It’s the responsibility of HR executives to ensure that hiring managers don’t adjust figures downwards if an offer is made to a disabled candidate.

8. Prepare the team upfront

Once a disabled candidate has been hired, the team they’ll be working with must be told of their disability. This isn’t discrimination. It’s preparation.

Staff must be prepped on common-sense etiquette. Welcome your new colleague as you would anyone else; just be mindful of their disability. They don’t want sympathy, they don’t need to be treated differently, and they don’t need extra help. If they need help, they’ll ask just as anyone else will.