Ableism: Half of Canadian workers with disabilities face prejudice

In fact, 44% have experienced acts of ableism and 43% have witnessed acts against one or more work colleagues in the past year.

"Our poll findings reveal that ableism is a systemic issue in Canadian workplaces," says Rob Davis, chief inclusion, diversity and equity officer at KPMG in Canada. "It also uncovers that persons with disabilities feel their employers are not fully utilizing their talents, representing a loss of skills, creativity and productivity to businesses in Canada. 

Last year, Ontario invested $6.5 million to support five innovative projects to help more than 3,770 people with disabilities find jobs with businesses in their communities.

What's the workplace experience for Canadians with apparent disabilities?

The experience seems to be even worse for Canadians with apparent disabilities: 58% have experienced ableism and 50% have witnessed acts of ableism against work colleagues, according to KPMG.

Also, in the past year, 58% of persons with apparent disabilities, compared to 39% with non-apparent disabilities, experienced acts of ableism at work. The numbers are even higher among those with disabilities and belonging to people of colour (60%) and Indigenous (61%) groups.

The KPMG study also notes that 68% of workers with disabilities say they must work harder than their colleagues who do not have disabilities to be valued and recognized in the same way.

This jumps to 81% for persons with apparent disabilities, compared to 62% for those with non-apparent ones.

This is also higher for women (71%) compared to men (62%) and for people of colour (82%) and Indigenous peoples (75%). 

For people with disabilities currently unemployed but actively looking for a job, the comparable number is 81%.

Workers with disabilities are also struggling to rise in Canadian organizations, according to a previous report from George Brown College.

“This should be a wake-up call for organizations to take a much closer look at their workplace culture, as well as at policies and practices to build a respectful and inclusive work environment for people with apparent and non-apparent disabilities,” says Davis. “Otherwise, they risk losing top talent."

How should you support people with disabilities?

“Accommodating disabilities in the workplace is both a legal requirement and a key component of inclusion,” according to financial firm Intuit.

To foster a culture that supports workers with disabilities, the company notes that employers should do the following:

• Understand how people with disabilities make a positive impact in the workplace.
• Ensure hiring panels reflect the diversity of your company and prioritize inclusion.
• Implement organizational learning and training that highlights the experiences of people with disabilities in the workplace.
• Foster a culture where disability discrimination in the workplace is unacceptable and promote the benefits of diversity. 
• Provide regular DEI training for all employees and promote the use of inclusive language.
• Promote an inclusive and supportive work culture.

While hiring workers with disabilities has become a lot easier, there continue to be challenges on the way to employment for these workers. The biggest barrier is finding “a truly inclusive organization,” says Cintia Lutz, founder of Able and Available, in talking with Human Resources Director Canada.