October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). During this time each year, we celebrate the talents, values, contributions, and achievements of workers with disabilities in the workplace and the economy. Persons with disabilities are diverse groups of people with various types of disability including cognitive, hearing, mobility, vision, and self-care or independent living (Frączek, 2023). Persons with visible and non-visible/hidden disabilities are also a significant pool of current and potential members of the United States workforce. While both persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities experience the highs and lows of employment, there are additional considerations for persons with disabilities. Here are a few statistics from the Department of Labor. 

• 24.5 percent of people with disabilities (16 years and over) participate in the U.S. labor force compared to 68.1 percent of people without a disability.
• Persons with disabilities have an unemployment rate that is almost two times higher than persons without disability (7.2 percent vs. 3.7 percent).  
• Americans with disabilities tend to earn less than those without a disability. 

These data provide insight into labor force participation and shows the comparative variations. With these significant differences across workforce participation, unemployment rate, and earnings, intentional work to engage in inclusive organizational processes cannot be understated. 

Compliance to Awareness

Since disability is a protected category in the workplace, organizations like University of Illinois have specific non-discrimination policies based on laws such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. While these anti-discrimination policies are reinforced through the compliance processes, research and the data above indicate that workers with disabilities experience considerable barriers within employment. Therefore, each year, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) works closely with partner organizations including those representing employers, people with disabilities and their families, and government agencies to develop themes to build awareness and lead efforts for change. 

Awareness to Commitment 

This year’s ODEP theme is “Access to Good Jobs for All” and a key objective is to ensure that all workers including workers with disabilities have opportunities to not only participate in the workforce but also have access to the jobs they want. Furthermore, as the ways in which we work change over time, researchers have examined the link between employment rates among persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities. Frączek's 2023 study focused on factors that influence remote work and impact the employment rate in a group of employees with and without disabilities. The research also includes the employment gap as a factor that influences the employment rate among these employees. The findings from this study indicate:

• For persons with disabilities, having basic or above basic digital skills, which is important for remote work, had a primary influence on their employment rate. In other words, low digital skills could result in higher unemployment rates.
• For persons without a disability, level of education was a predictor of their employment rate. 

To create and maintain inclusive organizational behaviors, Frączek  suggests that organizations [and teams] support activities that help to strengthen and enhance skills and opportunities. This includes supporting protections, providing promotion pathways, delivering upskilling activities, understanding more about the needs of remote workers, developing collaborative work arrangements and conflict resolution procedures, and remaining committed to enhancing opportunities. 

Ongoing Commitment

As our internal employee population grows at Illinois Extension, and we continue to work with different organizations and collaborators, our core value of inclusivity holds us accountable for providing access and opportunities for our workers. NDEAM reminds us of factors that affect worker’s economic self-sufficiency and the more we explore things like the benefits and barriers to remote/hybrid work, the better we become at supporting our teams and individual colleagues. 

In closing, “Access to Good Jobs for All” recognizes the disparities between workers with disabilities and workers without disabilities. It embodies the notion that all workers, with a spotlight on our workers with disabilities, should have opportunities to plan for and engage in the employment of their choice, and have pathways to grow and advance in their careers. 

References

Frączek, B. (2023). Challenges for inclusive organizational behavior (IOB) in terms of supporting the employment of people with disabilities by enhancing remote working. Social Indicators Research, 171, 1019-1041.

Image Credit

Unsplash;  Elizabeth Woolner