Beyond DEI: The business benefits of hiring staff with disabilities

By Luisa Alemany and Freek Vermeulen

In recent years many companies have become sensitised to the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion. But in most organisations, DEI initiatives focus largely on gender and ethnicity. A group that has received less attention is people with disabilities, and that has led to disparities in the workplace. In the United Kingdom, for example, the employment rate for people with some form of disability (who make up 20% of the working-age population) is just 53%, far less than the 81% rate for people without disabilities.

Employing people with disabilities is usually seen as a social cause — one best suited to organisations that are not-for-profit or in the public sector. That is a mistake — and more important, a missed opportunity. In many industries innovative companies are showing that the inclusion of people with disabilities can lead to real competitive advantage and long-term profitability.

Our research suggests that having employees with disabilities in its workforce can build a firm’s competitive advantage in four ways: (1) Disabilities often confer unique talents that make people better at particular jobs; (2) the presence of employees with disabilities elevates the culture of the entire organisation, making it more collaborative and boosting productivity; (3) a reputation for inclusiveness enhances a firm’s value proposition with customers, who become more willing to build long-term relationships with the company; (4) being recognised as socially responsible gives a firm an edge in the competition for capital and talent.