The Disability Inclusion Business Council (DIBC) has released its final report titled Bridging the Gap – Report on Disability Inclusion in Canadian Workplaces.

The report sets out “tangible advice and actionable recommendations” for Canadian employers and the goveronment on what supports employers need for workplace inclusion. It examines topics such as workplace culture, inclusive design, accommodations, recruitment and career development, artificial and assistive technology, and measuring success.

The council recommends that employers:

• Champion a culture of inclusion and provide training opportunities regarding disability and accessibility awareness and sensitivity to all employees, particularly people managers.
• Adopt inclusive design approaches to meet and exceed accessibility standards.
• Adopt accommodations approaches that offer employees accommodations and adjustments by default, rather than relying upon disclosure.
• Ensure fully inclusive environments throughout the full employee life cycle.
• Ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) and technology used in the workplace is ethical and accessible by design.
• Set standards and goals and measure performance to increase accountability.

“Many disabilities have varying symptoms that can require low to high supports,” said the council. “Most people in Canada will be impacted by disability at some point in their life, either directly or indirectly via family and friends. Disability is not an exception to the rule, but rather, part of a richly diverse human experience.”

In Bridging the Gap – Report on Disability Inclusion in Canadian Workplaces, the council also called on the federal government to:

• Lead by example to ensure that the Government of Canada’s workforce is representative of society and that the work environment is fully inclusive. Share successful efforts and lessons learned for other employers to learn from.
• Explore ways to enhance information-sharing, mentorships, build talent pipelines, and job-matching efforts.
• Further promote the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) requirements and Accessibility Standards Canada’s (ASC) Centre of Expertise amongst all employers.

The report, in addition to the creation and launch of the Canadian Business Disability Inclusion Network (the Network) last year, successfully completes the Council’s mandate.

Supporting inclusion of persons with disabilities

The government has already taken action to support the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the labour market through:

• introducing Canada’s first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan, with employment as one of its four key pillars and the launching the Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities
• funding over 7,700 projects through the Enabling Accessibility Fund and investing $220 million annually in the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities and Skills for Success programs to create more accessible communities and workplaces and support the hiring, retention, and career advancement of persons with disabilities
• the ongoing implementation of the Accessible Canada Act, including establishing Accessibility Standards Canada with the mandate of developing national accessibility standards that can be adopted by any organization in Canada
• the net new hiring of more than 4,000 persons with disabilities in the federal public service as of February 2024, as part of the goal to hire 5,000 employees with disabilities by 2025.

As of data from 2021, there is a 16-percentage point gap between the employment rates of persons with disabilities aged 25 to 64 (62%) and persons without disabilities of the same age range (78%), the council noted, citing data from Statistics Canada (StatCan).

2024 data from StatCan show that among youth aged 15 to 24 years, the 3 most common disability types were mental health-related (14%), learning (9%) and pain-related (7%) disabilities. 

Among adults aged 25 to 64, the 3 most common disability types were related to pain (15%), mental health (11%) and flexibility (9%).

Source: HRD