Hiring Newcomers with Disabilities: Human Rights for the Common Good OCASI November 11, 2014 Domenico Calla Human Rights Consultant Toronto Public Health

Poverty Diminishes Human Dignity 25% of Ontarians with disabilities are unemployed. If all who have given up looking for work are included it rises to 75% (Toronto Star, 2014) The unemployment rate for newcomers in Toronto is more than double that of Canadian-born people: 19% compared to 9% (United Way, 2013) Employment is a key social determinant of health Poverty has individual and social consequences

Diversity Strengthens Us All Newcomers with disabilities bring vital community knowledge and connections which expand an organization’s cultural competence and reach Organizations benefit from their diversity, linguistic skills, lived experience and strong educational attainment Diversity of thought promotes creativity and effective decision making

Revealing and Reducing “Invisible Barriers” Newcomers with disabilities are strategic partners in creating barrier-free organizations They help uncover previously unnoticed accessibility issues No amount of training can buy this level of insight

Reducing Implicit Biases Low representation/invisibility in the workforce reinforces biases about newcomers with disabilities as unproductive drains on the Canadian system Integration and exposure help challenge biases and stereotypes

Strengthening the Bottom Line Staff retention is 72% higher among people with disabilities (Deloitte, 2010) 86% of staff with disabilities have attendance rates which are at par with or better than non-disabled employees (Deloitte, 2010) Employees with disabilities have higher rates of workplace safety (U.S. Job Accommodation Network, 2013)

Take Home Messages Employers need to be one of our key partners The human rights argument needs to be translated into “business language”:  Not just poor people are impacted by poverty  Newcomers with disabilities are assets, not liabilities  Diverse workplaces are successful ones