Op-ed: ‘People with disabilities under-represented in work force’
June 28th, 2008From the [Lower Hudson Valley, NY] Journal News:
Dimitri Kanevsky, a research scientist and master inventor who is deaf, expresses concern about the low U.S. employment rate for people with disabilities. It stands at 38 percent, or about half the employment rate for working-age people without disabilities.
There will be a labor shortage as baby boomers retire, Kanevsky writes, and the U.S. economy cannot afford to overlook the talents of people with disabilities.
In my view, people with disabilities develop top-notch, problem-solving skills that are honed by their need to overcome many obstacles to achievement. These skills are invaluable in numerous careers and help many disabled produce impressive track records.
… The vision underlying the ADA is equality of opportunity. We will achieve that goal when the employment rate for people with disabilities is the same as the entire work force and when people with disabilities have the same opportunity to advance their careers, based on individual performance, as every other worker.


