Even though in recent years the access of people with disabilities to the labor market has increased, in many companies the welfare assistance and prejudiced view still prevails in hiring these professionals, pointed out, on December 7th, Elaine Ranieri, from REIS (Corporate Network of Social Inclusion), and Eduardo Conrado Silveira, from the Special Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at OAB/SP. The two participated in the webinar “People with Disabilities and the Labor Market”, organized by ABPI’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, mediated by Monique Bastos, a Diversity professional at Veirano Advogados and a member of ABPI’s Diversity Committee.
The debaters, both wheelchair users, recognized that the job market has been increasing the hiring of people with disabilities but, for them, this number is far from ideal. The merely functional view of hired employees at the expense of equality and professional quality was one of the issues raised. “In 2008 companies were hiring numbers, but today we are showing that there are people behind them who need equity. We are in the transition from quantity to quality”, said Eliane Ranieri.
For Silveira, there are many accessibility bottlenecks in the business environment. For example, in the case of people with physical disabilities, they are related to inadequate furniture and equipment. “By law, accessibility is mandatory when recruiting people with disabilities, but I see many difficulties in adapting companies”, he said. “Most workplaces are not physically accessible”. He also pointed out as an obstacle to inclusion in the labor market the “capacitism”, which is discrimination and social prejudice against people with any disability type, thus assuming that they would be unsuitable for professional activities.
