Disability in the Workplace and Persistent Stigma
Published: 02 December 2019
Published: 02 December 2019
And yet, only 45% of employers in healthcare, social and education services sectors believe that their organisation is equipped to employ them.
(Australian Network on Disability 2018; Choahan 2018)
Disability can include (but is not limited) to the following:
(Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission n.d.; Comcare 2013)
It is vital that your workplace allows a person living with a disability to work just as someone without a disability would be able to.
Many of the restrictions faced by people with disability arise because of society’s outdated and narrow ways of thinking about disability. A refined model of thinking could conceive of disability as the result of an interaction between a non-inclusive society and its individuals (Australian Network on Disability 2018).
Language is powerful. Historically, the terms we have used to talk about disability have ranged anywhere from insensitive to outright insulting.
The following provides examples of inclusive language:
(Australian Network on Disability n.d.)
For more information and more examples of inclusive language, visit this link.
In July 2008, Australia signed on to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The aim of this Convention is to:
'Promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.'
(UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2008)
We are legally bound to the standards of the UN Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In addition to this, Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act 1992 explicitly protects:
(Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission n.d.)
The law also protects:
(Australian Human Rights Commission 2014)
Employees who have a disability are protected from discrimination in all stages of employment, for example in the case of:
(Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission n.d.; Australian Human Rights Commission 2014)
Discrimination in the workplace against people with a disability can occur in a way that is overt or subtle, termed direct and indirect discrimination.
Direct disability discrimination is the situation in which a person is acted toward less favourably, or not given the same opportunities as others solely because of their disability (Australian Human Rights Commission 2014).
Indirect discrimination is less obvious. Indirect discrimination occurs when employers enact conditions, practices or requirements that might seem as though they treat everyone in the same way but, in fact, disadvantage people who have a disability.
An example of this would be requesting that a person who is deaf attend meetings in which no Auslan interpreter is provided. By not being able to understand what is being said during the meeting they are clearly being disadvantaged.
A recent report highlighted that Australian employers have room for improvement when it comes to hiring people with a disability. It revealed that more than half of Australian businesses in healthcare, social and education services sectors overlook applicants with a disability (Choahan 2018).
The report is based on findings from the Australian Department of Social Services looking into employer attitudes towards hiring people with a disability. They discovered that only 58% of employers are currently employing someone with a disability (Choahan 2018).
Alarmingly, 38% of employers in the healthcare, social and education services industry surveyed consider employing someone with a disability to be ‘a step in the unknown’ (Choahan 2018).
The healthcare industry should be leading this movement, given that it is an industry that interacts with this community so closely (Chair of RACGP’s Disability Specific Interests Network, Bob Davis, quoted by Choahan 2018).
Reflect on whether your work environment is open, inclusive and accessible to people with a disability. Is there anything that could potentially impede a person living with a disability?
It is reasonable to request that your workplace improves accessibility in the following areas:
(Queensland Government 2019; Australian Human Rights Commission n.d.)
Recommendations from the Australian Network on Disability, outline that your workplace should:
(Australian Network on Disability n.d.)
While these adjustments may assist someone with a disability, it is worth noting that 88% of people who have a disability reported that they did not require additional support from their employer to be able to work (AIHW 2019).
This suggests that the primary reason for underemployment is a persistent stigma at a society-level, rather than any actual difficulties or restrictions to employing people with disabilities.
This idea is mirrored by the Australian Network on Disability, who claim that stereotypical assumptions and attitudes of employers about what people with a disability can or can’t do are the most significant barriers for people with disabilities (Australian Network on Disability quoted by Australian Government Comcare 2013).
A range of resources and supports are available to employers through the [JobAccess website] to assist them in the process of hiring a person with a disability.
The benefits of hiring people with a disability are numerous. Beyond the well-known benefits of a diverse workforce, workers with a disability have been shown to have, on average, higher job retention; better attendance; comparable levels of productivity; and fewer work health and safety incidents (Australian Government Comcare 2013).
(Subscribers Only)
Question 1 of 3
Which stage of the employment process is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992?
Start an Ausmed Subscription to unlock this feature!
Ausmed’s Editorial team is committed to providing high-quality and thoroughly researched content to our readers, free of any commercial bias or conflict of interest. All articles are developed in consultation with healthcare professionals and peer reviewed where necessary, undergoing a yearly review to ensure all healthcare information is kept up to date. See Educator Profile