Why Disability Inclusion is Important: A Business Perspective

By Michael Jung, Young Adult Council Member

15-20%. That is the estimated percentage of the world population that has disabilities, according to the World Economic Forum. Needless to say, including a part of the job pool that large is of high importance from a business perspective. Yet what we have seen is that many companies ignore those with disabilities when hiring, deeming them a burden instead of an asset. Writing off 15-20% of the job pool because they are disabled isn’t just wrong from a moral perspective, it’s wrong from a business perspective too. So much talent will be missed by companies because they decided to ignore this section of the population. This an especially bad decision given that countries such as the United States currently face a labor shortage. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are 1.7 million less workers today than in February 2020. Tapping into the disability community is a clear solution to solve this labor shortage.

The main argument against establishing disability inclusion programs within companies is that it is a costly investment. While it is debatable that these types of programs actually cost companies a significant amount, let’s say for a moment that they do. So what? In business, you have to spend money to make money. Establishing disability inclusion programs is just another example of this. With a mostly untapped labor pool of that size, it is almost certain the talent acquired from these programs will contribute more than enough to company profits to cover the investment in them. It’s a sound business decision to make this investment.

Here’s another number for you: $13 Trillion. That is the estimated spending power that those with disabilities and their families have in the global economy according to the World Economic Forum. If a business decides not to make their products accessible to those with disabilities, they have locked themselves out of a $13 Trillion market. But how do companies make their products accessible? It all comes back to hiring. Disabled employees can help you design and market your products to get your company into this market. In fact, disabled employees are the most qualified individuals to design accessible products, since they have firsthand experience with the needs and wants of the disability community. At the end of the day, the objective of the hiring process is to find the most qualified individual for the position. Therefore, to best tap into this market, the best business decision is to hire disabled people.

Every company, even those that disregard business ethics and put profit above all should place high importance on disability inclusion. Not only is there a large untapped labor pool to draw from, there is a $13 Trillion market for disability-focused products for companies to invest in. Investing in disability inclusion is not only a sound ethical decision, it’s a sound business one too.