Causes of Unemployment among people with disabilities
A person with a disability is someone who has a mental or physical impairment which has caused a long-term effect on her/his ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Despite passing of The American with Disabilities Act of 990, which guides on the legal rights of people with disabilities on employment, people with disability are still facing many challenges in getting a job. The hiring of people with a disability remains far lower when compared to people without limitation because of some reasons which can be solved regardless of cultural barriers.
Employment of people with disability has been showing a negative trend despite the growth of economic conditions. The phenomenon behind this challenge is that employers’ biases and stereotype have made them be less willing to employ disabled people. Most people with disabilities are less accessed to education; special individual schools for those people are fewer compared to the number of disabled people. Less productivity of people with disability when compared with those without together with lack of the necessary abilities, skills and knowledge about the available jobs contribute more on the problem. Firms have a fear of lawsuits and other legal costs which are associated with persons with disability. Also, employers have a doubt of the coworkers reacting negatively when working to people with disability. People with disabilities increase the labor costs because of legal requirements such as insurance costs. Another cause of this problem is that employers are not aware of the economic incentives associated with hiring people with disabilities, and this is not significant form them to change their practice of hiring.
People with disability need to demand their rights for the vocational rehab programs to prepare them from their age of infant towards paid employment. These people need to be encouraged to be proud and loud in telling others that they want to work since most of them want to work, but they have not secured opportunity. They need to be encouraged to work in volunteer as early as 14 years of age, for them to gain skills and knowledge in a given field, and this will enable them to secure a job. Putting legal measures on companies to employ a certain percentage of people with disability will enable most disable people to secure employment. TV reporters and other media people should emphasize on educating people on using people with disabilities.
In conclusion, as the public perception of hiring disabled people to change, other obstacles are preventing them from going into the workforce. Government need to work with their disability elected officials to figure their challenges. To improve the employment of people with disability, these people should be prepared for employment through training and encouraging employers to have a desire to employing people with disabilities.
References
Joseph, L. M. (2019). Integrated employment for all: the business perspective on hiring people with disabilities (Doctoral dissertation, Xavier University).
Lengnick-Hall, M. L., Gaunt, P. M., & Brooks, A. A. (2001). Why employers don’t hire people with disabilities: A survey of the literature. College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
Whalen, D. (2019). Essays on disability and employment.