Good for Everyone

“Hiring someone with a disability is good business.  And that’s the bottom line.”  This is what the current slogan of the Manitoba Government Family Services and Consumer Affairs reads.  The basic premise of this campaign is to encourage Manitoba businesses, and corporations to employ people with disabilities. The idea of the slogan is to promote diversity in the work force by suggesting it will be beneficial to the employers and companies themselves. The underlying purpose is to provide Manitoban’s with disabilities equal employment rights and opportunities. Though this program aims to achieve equality for individuals faced with a disability, the need for such a campaign itself indicates the current lack of opportunity in the work force.

Contrary to a neoconservative society, liberals believe the state has some responsibility in the regulation of its citizen’s social, economic and political life. Neoconservatives believe a race is fair regardless of starting points, while liberals try to make this race fairer through social assistance. This aspect of a liberal viewpoint is present in the slogan created by the Manitoba government.  The program is devised to improve the access people with disabilities have to employment, though still accepting they are disadvantaged. Mullaly(2007), “Inequalities of circumstances are acceptable as they are based on merit or effort and not on hereditary or some other social characteristic. That is, unequal rewards go to those with unequal skills and effort.” (p.96). From the liberalist perspective a structured type of inequality is acceptable, as long as efforts to improve inequality exist.

The Society for Manitobans with disabilities works with its clients to assess skills and provide appropriate options for employment that correlate with ones abilities. The services and support SMD administers to individuals with physical disabilities is useful in determining the kind of job one might be able to perform in spite of their disability. This service also works to match people with jobs, and tasks which can meet with the needs of the company looking to employ a diverse staff.  Though the liberal ideology works to operationalize the idea of equality, it is obvious that in the race of employment people without physical disabilities have a definite head start.

A case study performed in Toronto sheds light on the amount of work that could be required just for a person with a physical disability to be eligible for a job.  The case study follows Kate, a twenty year old female who at birth became a quadriplegic. The purpose of this experiment was to provide Kate the technology and training so she would be able to operate a computer on her own. (Blain et al., 2010). This type of training is often essential for people with physical disabilities as technological and computer based jobs are generally the most prominent kind. The downfall to a job with these computer based requirements is shown in the outcome of Kate’s case study.  “Well the benefits of computer access are well- documented, the challenges of finding an access pathway for individuals with severe disabilities can be so overwhelming that efforts frequently cease after a few iterations.”  This study reports that, “These often insurmountable barriers include the need for reliable motor control to operate conventional mechanical input devices, the health professionals’ limited awareness or experience of the diverse collection of available devices and the prohibited cost of customized solutions.” (Blain et al., 2010).

Unfortunately because of the amount of technology, training, and funding required to allow an individual to use this helpful technology on their own, it isn’t an easy solution.  Regardless of the efforts of the campaign slogan or the help of SMD, people with severe physical disabilities are often still unable to find employment.  Though this information is discouraging a finding at the Sandiego State University shows that a, “recent study of diversity policies of the top 100 companies in the 2003 Fortune 500, which found that of organizations with diversity policies, 42% included people with disabilities in the definition of a diverse workforce, and 15% had supplier diversity policies that include disability in the definition of diversity.”(Shore et al., 2009). Though not a Canadian poll, hopefully the positive results of this study are just the beginning of a universal improvement for the lives of people with physical disabilities. This study also explains some of the reasons employers may not be eager to hire people with disabilities. There are potential risks which go along with having a person with a disability working for you. Liabilities due to increased risk of injury, and additional costs to make a workplace more accessible are a threat to the companies’ economic standing. (Shore et al., 2009).

This new Manitoba campaign is attempting to promote the other side, a more positive ideology, of hiring individuals with disabilities. Under the frequently asked questions on this website, common concerns are addressed and solutions provided. For example the site explains that often times hiring someone with a disability can require no additional costs, and in the case there is a need for funding it is generally under five hundred dollars. The site also explores the opportunities employers may be able to take advantage of in terms of income tax returns, and financial help.

Mullaly(2007). “Because liberals do not seek to change the given economic system , most of their interventions into the economy will be symptom-focused and  ameliorative rather than structural.” (p.100). The Manitoba government is addressing the symptom of little diversity in the workplace, through  a campaign which suggests hiring people with a disability will be good for your business. On the Manitoba Government website you can view testimonials and success stories from people who have either been hired, or have hired someone with a disability. It is impossible for us to determine the nature or the exact motive behind this campaign. It will benefit the people with physical disabilities who, because of the campaign, may be able to acquire a job more easily; though the slogan mainly suggests the benefits of the employer. Mullaly(2007).  Liberals view human nature as competitive and co-operative, motivated by self-development and progress.

Though it would be nice to assume that businesses hire people who are physically disabled for the goodwill of mankind, it is questionable if it is more an issue of creating a good image for the company. Regardless of business owners’ intent in hiring a diverse staff, positive impacts for people with disabilities is still the outcome.  I believe that this campaign is a step in the right direction for our government and for people who have disabilities and require a job to satisfy a standard of living. For Manitobans who already have income assistance because of their disability, having a job can also be seen as a fundamental part of adulthood.

Think about your experiences as a consumer in the service industry. How many times have you walked into a store, or a restaurant and been helped by someone that has a physical disability. I thought about this myself, and unfortunately I couldn’t think of very many events where I have personally seen someone with a physical disability working in a service job. Though we must take into account jobs which are not usually seen by the public, I have personally seen that the ratio of employed people with disabilities to those without is very uneven.  Hopefully business owners will take on the ideas of this campaign and we as Manitobans can make our work force more accessible and diverse.   

Shore, Lynn M., Chung-Herrera, Beth G., Dean, Michelle A., Ehrhart, Karen Holcombe., Jung, Don., Randel, Amy E., Singh, Gangaram. (2009). Diversity in organizations: Where are we now and where are we going?. Human Resource Management Review, 19(2), pp. 117-133.

Stefanie Blain., Patricia McKeever., Tom Chau. (2010). Bedside computer access for an individual with severe and multiple disabilities: A case study. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 5(5), pp. 359-369.

Mullaly, Bob. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3^rd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.

-Eliza R.