Disability and Equity at Work

Despite international and national guarantees of equal rights, there remains a great deal to be done to achieve global employment equality for individuals with disabilities. In OECD countries, the employment rate of persons with disabilities was just over 40%, compared to 75% for persons without a disability; in many low- and middle-income countries, the employment rates are even lower.

There are numerous reasons why persons with disabilities fare poorly in the labor market; Disability and Equity at Work is the first book to document what can be done to improve this imbalance. Chapters in this volume address all relevant facets of this topic and include:

· Extensive examination of the factors contributing to inequitable access to work among persons with disability

· Analysis of the economic benefits of increasing employment equity

· Successful employment strategies at every stage of a worker's career

· Evidence-based recommendations and in-depth case studies of innovative policies and programs around the world

Chapter contributors include leaders from international organizations, government, civil society, and academia, including experts from UN agencies, leaders in nongovernmental advocacy and research organizations, and senior academics in the field. Disability and Equity at Work fills a needed gap that will appeal to those interested in and engaged in public policy, global health, equal rights, business, labor, and other fields.

Jody Heymann is Dean and Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Heymann was the Founding Director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University. Heymann's leadership in addressing working conditions and equity include founding and leading the Project on Global Working Families at Harvard University, establishing and leading the WORLD Policy Analysis Center which examines labor policy and disability policy as well as other social policies in all 193 UN countries, and directing training initiatives which brought students to over 25 countries to study effective approaches to improving working conditions and equity in a wide range of social spheres. She is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and held a Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy.

Michael Ashley Stein holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. Co-founder and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, as well as Cabell Professor at William and Mary Law School, he has taught at Harvard, New York University, and Stanford law schools. An internationally recognized expert on disability law and policy, Stein participated in the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, works with disabled persons organizations around the world, actively consults with governments on their disability laws and policies, and advises a number of UN bodies. Stein has received numerous awards for his work, and was recently appointed by President Obama to the United States Holocaust Council.

Gonzalo Moreno helped managed the Disability and Equity Initiative in 2011-2012 at the Institute for Health and Social Policy, which examined what policies and programs can lead to labor market improvements for persons with disabilities, with a specific focus on equitable, integrated and sustainable employment. Moreno now coordinates a large-scale international research and training project that seeks to understand how social policy affects infant, child and maternal health outcomes primarily in low- and middle-income countries.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Disability, Employment and Inclusion Worldwide

Jody Heymann, Michael A. Stein, and Gonzalo Moreno

Section 1 - THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

Chapter 2

Restructuring Disability Policy and Improving Employment Outcomes in the United States

David C. Stapleton and David R. Mann

Chapter 3

Disability and Employment in the European Union: Collective Strategies and Tools

Anna Lawson

Chapter 4

Complementary Approaches: Japanese Disability and Employment Law

Ryoko Sakuraba

Chapter 5

Employment Challenges and Successes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Sophie Mitra

Chapter 6

Government Policy and Employment of Persons with Disabilities in Peru

Stanislao Maldonado

Section 2 - EMPLOYERS AND MULTI-SECTORAL ACTORS

Chapter 7

Finding and Maintaining Employment: Lessons from Workplace Non-Discrimination Measures

Susanne M. Bruyère with Sara A. Van Looy

Chapter 8

Improving Disability Confidence from Within the Private Sector: the Employers' Forum on Disability

Megan Galeucia

Chapter 9

Employability and Inclusion in a For-Profit Company: Serasa Experian's Employability Program for Persons with Disabilities.

Kali Stull

Chapter 10

Employment Policy Approaches and Multi-Sectoral Implementation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Daniel Mont

Chapter 11

Microfinance and Disability: Recommendations for Policymakers and Practitioners

Leif Atle Besland and Roy Mersland

Chapter 12

Assistive Technology and Employment in Low-Resource Environments

Joyojeet Pal

Section 3 - A LIFE-COURSE APPROACH AND BEYOND

Chapter 13

Transition from School to Work: New Directions for Policy and Practice

Frank R. Rusch, John Dattilo, Robert Stodden, and Anthony J. Plotner

Chapter 14

Career Advancement for Young Adults with Disabilities

Lauren Lindstrom and Laurie Guttman Kahn

Chapter 15

Preventing Job Abandonment and Facilitating Work Reintegration in High-Income Countries

Rienk Prins