Despite the fact that, in recent years, the access of people with disabilities to the labor market has increased, in many companies, the assistencialist and prejudiced view still prevails when hiring these professionals. That was what Elaine Ranieri, from REIS (Corporate Network for Social Inclusion), and Eduardo Conrado Silveira, from the Special Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at OAB/SP, pointed out. The two participated in the webinar “People with Disabilities and the Labor Market”, organized by the ABPI Diversity and Inclusion Committee (Brazilian Association of Intellectual Property), with the mediation of Monique Bastos, Diversity professional at Veirano Advogados and member of the Committee ABPI’s Diversity and Inclusion Department.
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. One of the issues raised is the merely functional view of the contractors at the expense of equality and professional quality. “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. “We need more active listening to deconstruct years of exclusion”.
For Silveira, there are many accessibility bottlenecks in the business environment. In the case of people with physical disabilities, for example, they are related to inadequate furniture and equipment. “By law, accessibility is mandatory, to recruit 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 “capacitation”, which is discrimination and social prejudice against people with any type of disability, thus assuming that people with disabilities would be unsuitable for professional activities.
You can watch the full webinar on the ABPI YouTube Channel – click here.