Just Abilities, No Disabilities: THE RESEARCH
Having described the core idea of our project, - that is to empower disordered people to play a more active role in society and business environment, in order to improve the corporate values of the 21st century- we moved on to an insightful research, aiming to understand deeper the business market in general and especially the business market of Greece related to the working chances provided to disabled persons.
THE NUMBERS
In developing countries, 80 % to 90 % persons with disabilities of working age are unemployed, where as in industrialised countries the official unemployment rate for persons with disabilities of working age. In most developed countries the official unemployment rate for persons with disabilities of working age is at least twice that for those who have no disability.
Specifically, in Asia and Pacific, there are 370 million persons with disabilities, of which 238 million are of working age. Their unemployment rate is usually double that of the general population and often as high as 80% or more.
In the European Union, a 2004 survey found that only 35% of working-age persons with disabilities are in fact employed, compared to an employment rate of 78% in the rest of the population. Two thirds of unemployed respondents with disabilities said they would like to work but could not find jobs. For graduates of four-year colleges, the employment rate, for both men and women, is 89.9%, while for college graduates with disabilities, the employment rate is 50.6%.
Although someone would believe that the 21st century society would be obviously improved, we unfortunately notice that perception, fear, myth and prejudice still remain unchanged and persons with disabilities are frequently not considered potential members of the workforce.
Inspired by the action of the denish company, Specialisterne, to incorporate people with autism disorders in the working environment and, after all, to prove that these people seem to be the best software testers and quality controllers in the world, we were occupied with a research on how this action has effected the denish society in general and the results were stunning:
But now, let’s move on to the Greek reality.. Basic practical reasons are the ones that have lead up to 80% of disabled people remain unemployeed and these are:
- Social Prejudice, Social Racism, Greek Misbeliefs
- Lack of appropriate organising structure to support the introduction of these people into the workspace
- lack of education and job orientation
In our effort to change this negative atmosphere all around disabled persons in Greece and after all provide them with equal working opprotunities, we will go into detailed research, meaningful workplace insights and very open-minded approach to companies best practises evolving all around the world that could be applied to Greece. The system has to radically change from the core and this can only happen through systematic effort and belief that we can make it.
