Welcoming People with Disabilities

For the most part people with disabilities are invisible. Have you ever wondered why? I did and that became my consuming research agenda and ultimately became the topic for my dissertation.
For an organization, there are two very different ways to deal with individuals who have a disability, and it has to do with when the disability occurs. If a person experiences a disability after he or she is already working for the company their chances of remaining employed, and the employer making accommodations, are far better than a person who is disabled and starts looking for employment. There are myriad reasons for this, but even a cursory examination suggests that the percentage of people with a disability are far greater than the percentage of people employed. In other words, a much higher percentage of the population is disabled and unemployed than those who are employed. Sure, there have been laws enacted which are supposed to eliminate employment barriers for disabled people, but as I just pointed out, the numbers indicate there is still a vast employment gap.
In my opinion, there are two very different problems facing a disabled person seeking employment. The first is that “one size does not fit all” so it makes knowing how to accommodate a disabled person messy. For example, accommodating a person with a visual impairment is much different than accommodating a person with a mobility impairment. I have noticed that there is often a fear that a disabled person may also have other issues which might impact their abilities to do a job. One person called it the Fear of the Unknown. I find this both strange and totally unfair, but it is none the less yet another obstacle often encountered.
The second, and probably the bigger issue, is that there are so many people seeking jobs that a person with a disability is competing against several non-disabled people. For a company that is not accustomed to employees with disabilities, it is just easier to hire the non-disabled applicant. While it is easy to understand that point of view, it is not necessarily in the best interest of the organization. Any successes an organization has is due to its employees, and it is logical to conclude that it is much better for the organization to hire the best, most qualified employee rather than the easiest to hire if that organization truly wants to surpass its competitors. Every research study I am aware of shows that (assuming a job is appropriate for a person with a particular disability) the disabled person will at least equal, and regularly out-pace his or her non-disabled counterpart doing the same job.

Assume you are responsible for hiring new employees for your organization. What steps could you take to attract qualified disabled applicants? (Installing ramps instead of stairs is a great idea but not what I am looking for in this question. What I want you to ponder is more of a cultural transition. How could you make your organization more friendly to employees with disabilities?)

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