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Week 4: Insights into Supporting Those with Disabilities
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
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Every five years, in the year immediately after the Census, Statistics Canada conducts the Canadian Survey on Disability and the 2022 edition reveals that 27% of Canadians report having a disability.
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In the 2017 edition, this was just 22% but in the intervening five years, this had risen to 27%. This is not to say that more people suddenly have a disability but that more likely, a larger portion of Canadians recognize a challenge they are dealing with is a disability.
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If you look closely at the survey, you'll see differences based on the population. The disability rate for women is 30%, compared to 24% for men.
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If we look at the increase in the number of people reporting a disability, the increase was bigger for young people aged 15 to 24. In the 2022 survey, 20% of this age group said they had a disability. This compares to 13% from the 2017 survey.
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Obviously, addressing employment challenges is a major challenge for government and so the federal government launched Canada's Disability Inclusion Action Plan in 2022. There are five specific goals, but essentially, the goal of the CDIA is to achieve a barrier-free Canada by 2040
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Supporting a national effort towards inclusion has been a goal for multiple Canadian governments for more than 60 years. Since 1962, the Government of Canada has been giving funds to provinces and territories so they can offer programs that help persons with disabilities find and keep good jobs.
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Since 2015, they have invested around $4 billion in these programs through the Workforce Development Agreements.
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To create a framework for achieving their 2040 goals, the Government of Canada created the Disability Inclusion Action Plan which includes a range of measures organized around three goals:
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Individuals – help them find and maintain good jobs, advance in their careers or become entrepreneurs;
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Employers – help them to diversify their workforces by creating inclusive and accessible workplaces; and
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Enablers - increase the supply, capacity, and reach of individuals and organizations that support disability inclusion and accessibility in employment.
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Clearly, reaching employment outcomes is a major factor in working towards a barrier free Canada.
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According to the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability, the employment rate for persons with disabilities aged 25 to 64 was 62%, up from 59% recorded in the 2017 survey. The employment rate for those without disabilities was 78% in the survey from 2022 and 80% in the one from 2017.
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Measuring against other countries, our 60 years of effort appears to be paying off. Among 32 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Canada was 1 of only 5 countries where the employment gap got smaller over the past five years.
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Statistics Canada estimates that, in 2022, over 1 million Canadians with disabilities aged 15 to 64 could work in an inclusive labor market but did not have a job.
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According to Employment and Social Development Canada, "early work experience is very important for youth with disabilities. A U.S. study found that those who work early are 17% more likely to have a job two years later. However, many employers don't know how to support them. Some employers see youth with disabilities as unable to work. This makes it harder for students with disabilities to find jobs. They often miss out on early job experiences that teach them the skills that many employers want. They are also less likely to get a second chance if they don't do well in a job. This gives them fewer chances to try different careers, making it harder to move from school to work."
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For both youth and other job seekers with disabilities, as well as enablers, Employment and Social Development Canada has put forward feedback they've gathered for each of the stakeholder groups:
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1. For individuals
Key feedback from engagement with individuals with disabilities
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More than physical spaces: inclusion also means including everyone in social, institutional, economic, legal, and political environments
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Transportation: there is a need for Indigenous Peoples on reserves and others in remote areas to have safe and affordable transportation
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Mental or invisible disabilities: employers often do not provide the right supports for workers, especially Indigenous Peoples who often face unfair treatment
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Narrow job scope: youth are often pushed into jobs that seem "to fit" their disability instead of their talents, making them less interested in job programs
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2. For employers
Key feedback from engagement with employers
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Lack of awareness: many employers, especially small businesses, are unaware of how to hire and accommodate persons with disabilities
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Practical tools: employers need practical tools and personalized help to improve their confidence in hiring workers with disabilities
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Business-to-Business: lots of business owners see the benefits of connecting with other businesses and getting training on disability awareness
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Career advancement: inclusion is not just about hiring persons with disabilities, but also keeping employees, helping them move up, and working together with employees with disabilities to make sure they do well
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Inclusive decision-making: businesses should involve employees with disabilities when making decisions
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3. For enablers
Key feedback from engagement with enablers
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Difficulty navigating various supports: makes it hard to learn about new ideas and strategies from across Canada
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Grassroots efforts: it is important to support grassroots efforts that share ways to help job seekers
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Tailored supports for youth: flexible supports are helpful for youth with disabilities as they have different ways of learning skills, getting education, and finding jobs
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Flexible work arrangements: enablers say that remote work jobs are great for youth with disabilities looking for work, especially if they live far from cities
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One of the most recent steps taken by the federal government is the development of the
Disability Inclusion Business Council. The mandate of the council is to:
- incubate, design, and setup a self-governed independent business network; and
- provide the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities advice and recommendations on workplace inclusivity
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If fully developed, this network could be a game-changer, creating a national network of disability-friendly employers. If fully-implemented, this could be the most impactful effort we've ever seen, given that employers will now be modeling for other employers, inclusive hiring practices.
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And while we may never see a national disability employment network, that doesn't mean you can't create one for your own community where disability employers aren't just individually recognized, but where a database is developed allowing career professionals and job seekers to access a list of employers.
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We’ll be discussing efforts to create a more inclusive workplace for those with disabilities at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Monday July 22nd at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland.
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We're no longer using the Motivating Mondays URL to connect due to security concerns. Instead we're hosting the sessions on a new Teams Link we share in this newsletter each week. On the morning of Monday July 22nd, 'Click this Link' to join the session LIVE.
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