Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA): A social innovation lab to increase demand-side capacity to employ persons with disabilities in Canada

Reasons for the study

Talented people are all too often excluded from equal opportunities and choices in careers, jobs and work because they are ‘different.’ That is frequently the case for the 20 per cent of the Canadian population who are persons with disabilities (PWDs), who have disproportionately poorer employment outcomes, even with appropriate qualifications and work readiness.

Despite efforts to improve their employment levels by governments and other stakeholders, labour force participation rates of PWDs in Canada remain substantially lower than persons without disabilities—59 per cent compared to 80 per cent. Among those working, many remain stuck in entry-level, low paying, precarious employment—experiences that give rise to instability, lack of protection, insecurity, and social and economic vulnerability. These challenges are compounded for PWDs from marginalized groups, who face additional systemic barriers to secure employment, based on their gender, sexual orientation and/or racial identity.

Traditionally, programs and research on employment of PWDs in Canada and internationally have focused on preparing individuals for employment. However, little attention has been given to employer attitudes towards, interest in and capacity for hiring and accommodating PWDs. Without attention to employer needs and improving the literacy of workplace stakeholders on inclusive practices, the fundamental context of the workplace will remain unchanged, and barriers and assumptions remain unchallenged.

This project proposes a new framework for a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to applied research in work disability policy and practice in the form of a social innovation laboratory called Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA), which will focus on building employer and system capacity for providing sustainable and rewarding employment opportunities for PWDs. By drawing on knowledge from rehabilitation science, disability and social policy, design and technology, management, economics and program evaluation, this project is better poised to tackle the complex challenges in this arena.

Objectives of the study

Target audience

Canadian work disability policy system stakeholders, including injured worker/disability community representatives, employers, policy-makers, disability program administrators, educators and service providers