|
|
Students with Disabilities, Employers
Disability as a Part of Diversity
Including People with Disabilities in Diversity Programs
Workforce diversity makes good business sense. The Department of Labor's Office
on Disability and Employment Policy maintains that including people with
disabilities in diversity programs can help to:
- Increase the pool of qualified job applicants available for hiring.
- Obtain diverse skills, viewpoints and backgrounds in the workforce that
can lead to improvements in the bottom line. Including employees with disabilities
on product development, marketing, advertising and sales teams can help employers
gain insight about how best to tap into and serve the disability community.
- Demonstrate to customers a commitment to equal employment opportunities.
Consumers with disabilities control more than $175 billion in discretionary
income. They, like all consumers, are more likely to patronize businesses
where they feel welcome. Accessible stores, products and services, along with
employees with disabilities, will help customers with disabilities feel that
their business is appreciated.
- Comply with the ADA
and other federal
legislation
Fact Sheets from the DOL's Office on Disability and Employment
Policy
More detailed information is available in the
Department of Labor's Fact Sheets. For example:
Hear from Employers
"There are a lot of business reasons for hiring people with disabilities;
the most important one I think is that people with disabilities are a viable
part of our workforce and part of our diverse populations. So it's important
for companies who are focusing on diversity initiatives to focus on people
with disabilities as well." -- Meg O'Connell, Booz, Allen, &
Hamilton
"There are certainly advantages to recruiting and even actively hiring
individuals with
disabilities. As a company who is making products that we would like to be
usable by all
people, we want to make sure that we have people with disabilities on our
staff who will
be able to help us market and help us create those products that are in fact
usable by all.
Aside from that insight that they bring based on their experiences, we've
also known that
for individuals with disabilities there is a high rate of retention, that's
proven, they have
strong creativity and problem solving skills, there's a high motivation to
have a job and to
be productive and those are the things that we need as a corporation to be
competitive." -- Mylene B. Padolina, Microsoft Corporporation
"We need to create an environment that is not only accessible, but
is open to all people. That's a huge challenge. But, I'll tell you, we have
got a world class team here. And I know, I've never met a team with more passion.
And with a world class team and with the kind of passion you all have, I believe
we can do anything...." -- Paul Horn, IBM
Back to Students with Disabilities, Employers Home
Back to Students with Disabilities Home
|
