From the Associated Press in the International Herald Tribune:

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to the “deplorable” job discrimination against millions of disabled people around the world.

… Ban said estimates show that at least half of all disabled people in developed nations, and the vast majority of those in developing countries are unemployed. Most others are under-employed, “or will never have full access to the labor market.”

“This situation is deplorable,” the secretary-general said. “Persons with disabilities have the ability to make valuable contributions in the workforce as employees, entrepreneurs and employers. But they face numerous barriers that prevent them from fulfilling their potential.”

Ban cited difficulties for the disabled in getting an education and learning skills that would be useful in the job market, fears and prejudices about their abilities, as well as inaccessible workplaces, and explicit and implicit discriminatory legislation and practices.

Representatives from Merrill Lynch and the National Business and Disability Conference said that hiring people with disabilities makes good business sense.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at 9:00 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, employment, international, jobs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post