Opinion: Inclusion at B.C. workplaces means seeing disability as a strength
January 8, 2025
Workforce participation is an important success factor behind economic growth.
Statistics from the Government of Canada highlight that 62 per cent of Canadians with disabilities have jobs, compared with 78 per cent of Canadians without disabilities. Not only that, but persons with disabilities tend to have lower-paying jobs with less stability, limited benefits and fewer chances for career growth.
While not everyone with a disability is able to work, many can with the right conditions in place. For this to happen, employment must be accessible and inclusive to all.
This summer, the federal government launched an employment strategy, and further committed to removing barriers, changing old beliefs and creating a workforce in Canada where everyone can succeed. In line with the Disability Inclusion Action Plan and the Accessible Canada Act, the vision of this strategy is to guide Employment and Social Development Canada in helping people with disabilities in the job market. Informed by the principle of “Nothing Without Us,” this strategy draws on feedback from people with lived experience.
It is critical that all inclusivity and accessibility strategies are led by people with lived experience. In creating meaningful opportunities to work within Canada, we can’t effectively develop solutions for persons with disabilities unless they are actively contributing to them.
Lived experience expertise creates success. When a workforce reflects its constituency in terms of diversity, it is more likely to serve its constituency well. When end-users – in this case people with disabilities – are meaningfully involved in the envisioning, designing, testing and validation of a product or solution, it leads to superior results.
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