Three charts on: disability discrimination in the workplace

 Many workplaces do not make reasonable adjustments for employees with disability.: Shutterstock

               

Simon Darcy, University of Technology Sydney and Tracy Taylor, University of Technology Sydney

Only 53% of Australians with disability are employed, compared to 83% of all working-age people. Australia ranks 21st out of 29 OECD nations when it comes to employment rates for people with a disability.

But looking at the data reveals an even darker story – complaints about disability discrimination are the largest category of discrimination reported to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), and the numbers have been steady for around 20 years.

Lower employment levels translate into Australians with disability living in poverty at the highest rates in the OECD.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also found that the employment rates vary radically depending upon the “disability type”. Those who have a “psychological disability”, for example, have the lowest employment rate at 29%.

Employment also varies by “disability severity” (defined as mild, moderate, severe and profound). Employment decreases as severity increases. Only 26% of people with profound or severe physical disability are employed.



As you can see in the chart above, complaints to the AHRC are categorised by the legislation they fall under – Disability Discrimination Act, Sex Discrimination Act, Racial Discrimination Act, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act, and Age Discrimination Act.

Using this, we can see that disability discrimination has consistently represented the highest proportion of complaints, currently 37%. When you consider that the Racial Discrimination Act and the Sex Discrimination Act total 41% of cases combined, this gives some insight into the prevalence of workplace discrimination faced by people with disability.

The next chart shows the proportion of disability discrimination complaints that relate to the workplace. This is approximately 35% from the latest figures but  has peaked at a much higher rate.

While we can’t explain the fluctuation, at various times there have been changes to the system, cuts in funding and political tensions. What can be interpreted from the figures is that disability discrimination has been sustained and ongoing over the two decades.



In our research, using publicly available complaint case summaries, we found that employers incorrectly assumed that the costs of employing people with disability were higher than they are, or were unaware of government programs to offset the costs of reasonable adjustments in the workplace. In other cases, people were discriminated against by the strict adherence to guidelines and policies. 

We found several distinctive themes in the disability complaints made.

For instance, many employers do not provide adequate access to the workplace. This could be as simple as tactile ground surfaces for people who are blind. Many cases also involved managers, or human resource procedures, being too quick to dismiss an employee who acquired a disability. Reasonable adjustments can often be made to the position descriptions.

Hiring practices were often biased and discounted the abilities of applicants (otherwise known as unconscious bias). In many cases, workplaces were not inclusive of assistive technologies, such as screen reading software or hearing loops. These would have allowed employees with a disability to do their job.

Mental health complaints have doubled in prevalence over time suggesting the dynamic nature of disability discrimination and the willingness of those with mental health issues to disclose their disability who previously may not have instigated a complaint case.



In reading the summaries of the complaints to the AHRC, it is apparent that employers, co-workers and third-party organisations (e.g. insurance companies) directly or indirectly treat people unfairly, or, in the worst cases, display open hostility to Australians with a disability.

In doing so, those involved show a lack of understanding of the basic legal principles of the Disability Discrimination Act. These include sections covering direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, unjustifiable hardship, inherent requirements and reasonable adjustments.

What can be done?

Some may argue that Australians with severe levels of disability would be unable to work. But their experiences show that, with the correct assistive technology and attitudes that focus on ability rather than disability, employment is not just possible but imperative. 

A recent OECD report singled out Denmark and Switzerland for their targeted intervention for younger people with disability or medical conditions. This ensures they have the highest chances of being employed rather than becoming welfare-dependent.

The foundation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme shows the government’s desire to give people with disability the opportunity to move from welfare to employment. While we wait for the major policy change to take effect, other immediate options are available to bring about positive social change.

Positive exposure in the media (see Attitude Foundation), personal contact and education could change attitudes to disability. The government and non-profit organisations have a multitude of resources available for businesses, to raise awareness about best practice and inclusive assistance.

One good resource is Job Access. This government site provides education and resources to assist with workplace adjustment. It also provides direct assistance to people with disability.

Other organisations like the Australian Network on Disability can help businesses to become strategically more inclusive. In the end it will come down to employers giving every Australian job seeker with disability a fair go and not judging “what I can do by what you think I can’t”.

Simon Darcy, Professor of Social Inclusion - UTS Business School - Centres for Business and Social innovation, and Business Intelligence and Data Analytics, University of Technology Sydney and Tracy Taylor, Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

An article based on work we undertook on the Australian Human Rights Commission's complaint case and conciliation outcomes.
Darcy, S., Taylor, T., & Green, J. (2016). ‘But I can do the job’: examining disability employment practice through human rights complaint cases. Disability & Society, 31(9), 1242-1274. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2016.1256807

Ospitalità Opening doors: how to make hospitality jobs truly inclusive

Innovative Italian and Australian Approaches

Reprinted from https://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-business-school/management/news/opening-doors-how-make-hospitality-jobs-truly-inclusive 

Hotel Albergo Etico staff receive integrated life skills and vocational training.  Photo: Supplied 

The Albergo Etico in Italy is a hotel with a difference: sprouting from the desire of a group of friends to help one young man find a placement, today the hotel is staffed by people with Down Syndrome training in all facets of the hospitality business.

The hotel is owned and operated by the "Download Albergo Etico" Project, an integrated life skills and employment project for people with Down Syndrome that is garnering interest internationally, including in Australia.

“We aim to make people with Down Syndrome the real protagonists of their working life,” the project’s Chair Alex Toselli says. “I believe people with disabilities must have the same rights to dream, to make money, to drive a car,” he told a recent seminar at UTS Business School.

As well as being paid industry-standard wages, the hotel staff receive integrated life skills and vocational training so they gain a level of independence they can carry with them throughout their lives and careers.

Toselli is now working with groups in Australia, Argentina, Finland, Norway and Slovakia interested in the concept.

'I believe people with disabilities
must have the same rights to dream'

Consultant and former Executive Director of Down Syndrome NSW Tracylee Arestides – who experienced Hotel Etico first-hand last year – recently established Project Etico Australia and is working closely with Toselli on the goal of setting up a hotel here.

“We’ve had a tremendous response across the sector to the whole working, living, learning concept embodied by Project Etico,” says Arestides, a UTS alumna. 

The success of Albergo Etico is largely due to the positive attitudes of, and relationships formed with, the business, hospitality and tourism industries, as well as the local community, Toselli told the “Ospitalità or HospitABLE” seminar at the University of Technology Sydney.

But continued innovation in the hospitality, education and tourism sectors is needed to ensure sustainable and inclusive employment becomes widespread globally, he says.

Debbie and Brendon Coombes have been running a Livvi's Cafe in Blacktown, Sydney.  Photo: Supplied

Australia ranks 21st out of 29 OECD countries when it comes to employment of people with a disability, says Professor Simon Darcy of UTS Business School. Among those of working age, more than half are either officially registered as unemployed or counted as not participating in the labour force.

Discrimination in employment based on disability is a significant issue, as identified in a recent analysis of Australian Human Rights Commission complaints, he says.

Further, due to the history of “sheltered workshops” in Australia, underpayment remains a big problem, along with the amount of time spent looking for work, which is significantly higher among people with disabilities than the non-disabled.

“But we know there are innovative ways to connect training, employment and inclusive approaches to organisational practice and we want to show that people with disability can make long-term and sustainable contributions to Australia economically and socially,” Professor Darcy says.

Australian businesses that do employ people with a disability report greater productivity and higher staff morale.

That’s clearly an opportunity for the hospitality industry, where high staff turnover compromises customer service and sustainability, the seminar heard.

'Australian businesses that do employ
people with a disability report greater
roductivity and higher staff morale'

Social enterprise Livvi’s Café is another group trying to change the employment statistics for people with a disability.

As a social enterprise, Livvi’s Café – an offshoot of the not-for-profit organisation Touched By Olivia – operates under a business model where profits are generated but with the aim of funding social good.

The initial idea of the café chain was to create safe and inclusive play spaces for children with disabilities, founded on the principle that “every child has a right to play”. But the goals soon expanded to include providing employment opportunities for young people with disabilities. 

Chief Executive Bec Ho says the move into cafés two years ago was well received by the community – people were more than happy to wait a little longer for a coffee – and the project is improving the wellbeing and confidence of its young employees.

Aviva Redmond, who works as a service provider with service provider LifeStart and has a close family member with a disability, is excited to see projects like Download Albergo Etico and Livvi’s Café. “It’s really fantastic to see truly inclusive workplaces – workplaces that actually just treat people with disabilities like everyone else and pay them a fair wage,” she says.

Louise Geaghan from Willoughby Council says there’s still a lot of work to be done in Australia but the National Disability Insurance Scheme means Australia is on the cusp of a new world of choice and opportunity.

“As we move away from people with disabilities being in institutions or staying with their family for all of their lives, then we all start to think about them having those needs just like all of us do – and I think that’s really good,” she says.

Byline:

Viki Gerova and Lesley Parker

A new article on perceptions of people with disability working in the tourism and hospitality sector

While the blog has examined the importance of customer service attitude for accessible tourism (click here to see previous post), what has not been examined is people with disability as employees in the tourism and hospitality sector. Foundation work by Goffman (1963) on stigma, institutions and disability examines the marginalising nature of social attitudes. Whether it is fear or aversion there is no doubt that people with disability are placed in marginalised positions because of the social attitudes people have to "the other" (Darcy & Buhalis, 2011; Wearing & Darcy, 2011). The literature has shown that the tourism and hospitality sector values the aesthetic of the image of its employees sometimes as much as performance whereby certain people get to work "front of office" while others will never get promoted from “back of office" duties (G. F. Ross, 2004). While Photo 1 shows an exception to the rule where Hotel Panda in Budapest is run by staff with disabilities, too often people with disabilities may not even make an interview due to discriminatory selection practices (Darcy, Green, & Taylor, 2011). Other research has also shown that those in management in tourism have become very good at "camouflaging" their attitudes to appear "politically correct" while still acting in a discriminating manner (G. A. Ross, 1994). A number of articles have focused on the importance of disability awareness training as a way of improving attitudes to disability (Bizjak, Knezevic, & Cvetreznik, 2011; Daruwalla & Darcy, 2005; Navarro García-Caro, de Waal, & Buhalis, 2012) as well as ethical frameworks for understanding discriminatory attitudes towards people with disabilities as employees (G. F. Ross, 2004). Yet, little work has actually been undertaken on people with disability who are employees in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Photo 1: Hotel in Budapest run by staff with disabilities (source:  http://disabilityhorizons.com/welcome-to-budapests-hotel-panda-%E2%80%93-a-hotel-run-by-disabled-staff)

A new article by Gröschl (2012) undertakes a study of employees with disability in the German Embrace hotel association by interviewing managers, employees and guests with and without disabilities together with observations. The study refutes a lot of the stereotypes that suggests that people with disabilities don't have the capabilities to meet industry specific work requirements and that they are too costly to employ. The study found that "employees with disabilities are loyal, are reliable, and on balance, require moderate accommodations" to the workplace. The study concludes by suggesting that a change in organisational culture from one of exclusivity and intolerance may provide opportunities for employees with disabilities to be integrated within the workplace in an effective and efficient manner. Given that the hospitality industry worldwide suffers from high turnover, high casualisation and labour shortage, there may be lessons to be learnt and collaborations to be made with the disability advocacy sector to create a win-win environment for both people with disability and the tourism and hospitality sector. Gröschl (Gröschl, 2005, 2007) has also made to other contributions to the study of disability within employment in the tourism and hospitality sector.

A link to the abstract and the article is provided below

http://cqx.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/07/26/1938965512453082.abstract

Gröschl, S. (2012). Presumed Incapable: Exploring the Validity of Negative Judgments about Persons with Disabilities and Their Employability in Hotel Operations. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. doi: 10.1177/1938965512453082

Abstract

Research has shown that managers in the hotel industry perceive persons with disabilities as people who lack the required innate capacities and attributes, are unable to meet industry-specific work requirements, and are too costly to employ. A case study of hotels within the German Embrace hotel association finds little support for those negative judgments. Based on interviews with forty-nine managers, employees, and guests with and without disabilities as well as nine days of observations, the study found that employees with disabilities are loyal, are reliable, and, on balance, require moderate accommodations. On average, more than 60 percent of Embrace hotel employees are persons with disabilities. Embrace’s employment concept is based on the integrative model, which aims to create employment opportunities for persons with disabilities who do not find employment in the regular labor market. Many disabilities had no effect on the mobility or shift work of employees. The processes of accommodating and training persons with disabilities were frequently associated with minimal costs, and expenses incurred for some accommodations were offset by German government grants. Moreover, the physical attributes of persons with disabilities did not negatively influence the experiences of guests. The findings indicate that developing an organizational climate of openness and tolerance, placing employees with disabilities at the center of managerial planning and operational processes, and investing in good human resources management practices are essential elements for the integration of persons with disabilities in the workplace.

References

Bizjak, B., Knezevic, M., & Cvetreznik, S. (2011). Attitude change towards guests with disabilities: Reflections From Tourism Students. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(3), 842-857. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2010.11.017

Darcy, S., & Buhalis, D. (2011). Chapter 2 - Conceptualising Disability: Medical, Social, WHO ICF, Dimensions and Levels of Support Needs. In D. Buhalis & S. Darcy (Eds.), Accessible Tourism: Concepts and Issues (pp. 21-44). Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.

Darcy, S., Green, J., & Taylor, T. (2011). Disability Employment Practice: a human rights analysis. Paper presented at the The Future of Work and Organisations - the Australian and New Zealand Association Of Management (ANZAM), Amora Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand.

Daruwalla, P. S., & Darcy, S. (2005). Personal and Societal Attitudes to Disability. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(3), 549-570.

Goffman, E. (1963). Selections from Stigma. In L. J. Davis (Ed.), The Disability Studies Reader (pp. 205-215). London: Routledge.

Gröschl, S. (2005). Persons with Disabilities. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 46(2), 258-274. doi: 10.1177/0010880404273935

Gröschl, S. (2007). An exploration of HR policies and practices affecting the integration of persons with disabilities in the hotel industry in major Canadian tourism destinations. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 26(3), 666-686. doi: DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2006.05.007

Gröschl, S. (2012). Presumed Incapable: Exploring the Validity of Negative Judgments about Persons with Disabilities and Their Employability in Hotel Operations. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. doi: 10.1177/1938965512453082

Navarro García-Caro, S., de Waal, A., & Buhalis, D. (2012). Special Needs Customer Care Training for Tourism. In D. Buhalis, S. Darcy & I. Ambrose (Eds.), Best Practice in Accessible Tourism: Inclusion, Disability, Ageing Population and Tourism (pp. 365-374). Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.

Ross, G. A. (1994). Attitudes Towards The Disabled In Destination Marketing Organizations (Marketing Organizations). Ph.D Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Ph.D. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  

Ross, G. F. (2004). Ethics, trust and expectations regarding the treatment of disabled staff within a tourism/hospitality industry context. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 23(5), 523-544.

Wearing, S., & Darcy, S. (2011). Inclusiveness of the "Othered" in Tourism. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 3(2), 18-34.