Two major demographic pressures are affecting the Canadian labour force today: the aging workforce and the shortage of younger talent available to replace them… Making diversity a priority in Canadian organizations is imperative, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it is critical to the future success of our business and our economy.
– Deloitte, The Road to Inclusion, 2010
Companies need to design products and solutions with people with disabilities in mind, and they can easily do this by hiring more people with disabilities.
– Microsoft Canada, National Disability Summit, 2019
According to the Canadian Survey on Disability (2017), the employment rate of working age people with disabilities in Ontario is only 58.4% compared with 80.7% of the general population.
Why hire people with disabilities?
Including people with disabilities in your workforce will help meet projected labour shortages expected to continue for at least a decade. Employers have reported that inclusive workplaces reap many business benefits:
- Increased capacity for problem-solving, forethought, persistence and openness to innovation
- Improved interactions amongst co-workers
- Performance equivalent to other employees
- Reduced costs in talent replacement/onboarding
- Increased revenues and profitability
- Safer work environments