From HR.BLR.com and HREonline:

EEOC commissioner Christine M. Griffin said workplace diversity must include people with disabilities, and urged human resources professionals to set a high priority on hiring, retaining and promoting workers with disabilities.

Speaking at a national conference in New York that drew almost 2,000 people, Griffin said people with disabilities still face “blatant” discrimination, and that the workplace is the place where perceptions will be changed. “We are in our teenage years of civil rights,” she said.

Griffin asked the human resources professionals, “Are disabilities part of your diversity discussions or your diversity mission statement? They should be because individuals with disabilities have experiences that add value.”

… She emphasized that dealing with diversity in terms of disabled workers post-Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) goes beyond ramps, websites, and vendor initiatives. “It’s people, not policies, not lip service,” that must be addressed, she said.

… Unemployment of disabled workers is estimated between 40 percent and 70 percent, Griffin said. And the ability of those who do have jobs — even those who are highly qualified and regarded by their supervisors — is still questioned when it comes to promoting them to be supervisors.

If any other minority or ethnic group was treated that way, she said, “we would all be up in arms about it. We would all be furious. We would be doing something about it. Yet, we have been conditioned to think it’s OK for people with disabilities.”

Griffin said she called the companies listed in the best places to work for people with disabilities list, but none could give her one statistic about how many people with disabilities they employed.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 7:04 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, civil rights, disabilities, discrimination, employment. 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