Research Report: ‘The Changing Face of Disability’

‘The Changing Face of Disability’ report explores the current attitudinal climate in small to medium enterprises (SMEs) across Australia towards people with disabilities in the workforce and considers how things have progressed over the last 25 years, since the birth of WISE Employment.

What it reveals is that whilst employer attitudes are improving and becoming more positive, it isn’t sufficiently translating into actual jobs for those with a disability, which can be attributed to the many misconceptions still held across the workforce.

A vast majority (more than 80 percent) of businesses surveyed state that there is a greater openness towards employing someone with a disability compared to 25 years ago and that workplace accessibility has improved. Similarly, job seekers with a disability can also see the progress, with more than 60 percent agreeing that employers understand they are as productive and reliable as other workers.

Despite this, the report highlights that half of SMEs are not aware of any current staff in their business with a disclosed disability and a third have never employed someone with a disability before.

WISE Employment is committed to educating businesses and providing evidence of successful employment stories as well as improving awareness of services and resources available to support employers.

You can read the full Executive Summary here.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of the full research report, please email WISE Employment.

In the media: Channel Ten, in this video, reports on some of the key insights from ‘The Changing Face of Disability’ research report.