Are You Creating Unintentional Barriers to Accessible Employment?

I’m currently on the train, en route to Toronto to participate in a meeting of the Employers’ Partnership Table -- a group of various businesses and organizations -- both large and small -- tasked with coming up with ways to support Access Talent: Ontario’s Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities. 

Through my additional roles on the Ability First Coalition and on the City of London’s accessibility advisory committee, I’ve been repeatedly exposed to the challenges the people with disabilities face. There are several barriers to accessible employment: accessible transportation being a huge one; organizational attitudes being another. But there are also several barriers that we unintentionally create -- starting at the very beginning of the hiring process.

Today, we’re building on the groundwork we started back over the past couple of months and we are committed to actionable items. But there’s really no need to wait if you’re a business committed to hiring for ability first, as there are some easy fixes you can make to reduce some of those unintentional barriers of entry.

So, in addition to what I’ve learned over the years from my accessibility work, I reached out to some friends and colleagues in the accessibility world to benefit from their lived experience, including Echidna’s own Sarah Jevnikar and ACCAC’s Ashton Forrest to help develop a preliminary list that they have faced over the years.

Are You Forcing People to Self-Identify?

Some people may not feel comfortable disclosing a disability, due to the historic bias they’ve experienced during the hiring process. While statements like “accommodations can be made for people with disabilities” or “large-print versions available upon request” may seem innocuous enough -- even kind-hearted -- what they do is force someone to disclose that they have a disability.

As we know, there are both visible and invisible disabilities. Some people may not feel comfortable disclosing their situation before, during, or even after an interview. Instead of forcing people to do this -- or forcing them to not apply due to this disclosure -- can you focus on creating an inclusive hiring practice up front?

Do Your Requirements Actually Matter?

There are a number of requirements, such as typing speed, which automatically disqualify some candidates with disabilities. Do you actually need someone to type 80 words per minute? Or does the job actually require someone who can type quickly and accurately? If the threshold is artificially set at a higher number, you may be precluding people who can’t type conventionally from applying.

Nice to Haves versus Must Haves

Do you actually need someone with a valid driver’s license or who owns a vehicle, or do you need someone who can get to and from work on time? Can that be done with public transportation? If a job requires some travel, does it actually mean someone needs a car, or are there alternatives that would actually meet the needs of the role?

Do you need someone with CPR? Some people with physical limitations may not be able to perform that, but are there other people in the area who could serve as first responders? Looking at your requirements, are they absolutely mandatory for someone to effectively complete the vast majority of their role and responsibilities? Or are they just nice to haves that you're hoping can plug holes elsewhere?

Are You Compounding the Problem?

If your post has a requirement for experience -- whether volunteer or work-related -- you may be effectively compounding the problem of access. After all, finding employment or being able to participate in volunteer activities can be a barrier for people with disabilities. And if you have expectations that people have certain levels of experience, you may be just perpetuating that vicious cycle.

The Interview Process Itself

There are a number of issues that can prevent candidates from showing themselves in the best possible light. Telephone or audio-only interviews mean that people with hearing challenges may not be able to fully participate; people on the Autism spectrum, for example, may not interview well in person, but may be completely capable -- and excel -- at a role, but face challenges. 

Are You Preventing the Full Complement of Potential Candidates from Reaching You?

In my experience, most companies want to be as inclusive as possible. Smart companies understand the value of diversity on their teams (age, ethnicity, and abilities) and will work to cultivate that environment.

Yet, even if you’re willing to offer alternative applications, offer items like large-print versions on request, or provide support during the interview process, your potential candidates with disabilities may not be able to even get to that point, if the job description alone provides barriers.

And More...

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many other barriers people with disabilities face including, but not limited to:

• Inaccessible venues
• Interviews without virtual alternatives
• Full-time requirements/lack of flexibility
• Strict requirements when equivalencies would suffice
• communication barriers
• Physical work requirements that could, instead, be shared

And it’s not about hiring. That’s just the first barrier people with disabilities face. Even if they make it to that point, we can’t forget the ever-popular myths that still exist that make it more challenging for PWDs to get hired, including some of the not-so-greatest hits like:

• Hiring someone with a disability will be expensive, due to all the accommodations I’ll have to make (False)
• There’s a greater turnover rate amongst people with disabilities (False)
• We’ll have to provide more supervision for this employee (False)
• If I hire them, I won’t be able to fire them (False)
• Someone with a disability is more likely to have an accident (False)
• They’re going to be sick more often or require more time off work (False)

The realities are far different, but I’ll leave it to the Ability First Coalition to provide the actual facts about the myths and misconceptions about hiring people with disabilities.

Little Changes, Big Results

The thing is, most people want to do the right thing. And many actually may think they are (see the first point on self-identification). This isn’t about blame, it’s about awareness -- and that’s the first step.

Today, my colleagues and I on the partnership table are going to look at how we can set the wheels in motion to make systemic changes. But you don’t have to wait for grand pronouncements -- there are things you can do today, whether you’re a company of two people or 2,002!

You can make a difference, without it costing you a dollar or adding more time. Creating a hiring process that is inclusive of all lets you benefit from the widest possible pool of capable candidates -- and that’s just good business.