Building a Pipeline for Talent with a Disability: Creating the Right Approach & Culture

Sourcing & Onboarding IDD Talent

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) represent an 85% unemployment rate in the U. S.—a significant untapped talent pool that offers substantial potential to employers across all industries. According to the Institute for Corporate Productivity’s (i4cp) groundbreaking study, Employing People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, over a third of employers in high-performance organizations—those companies that excel in market share, revenue growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction over a five-year period—that employee people with IDD found them to be good talent matches for open positions.

Building a Pipeline for Talent with a Disability: Creating the Right Approach & Culture

Dialogue to Make #InclusionWork

October is a special time of year for us at the Department of Labor. If you’ve been following this blog in recent weeks, you may already know why; It’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Managed by our Office of Disability Employment Policy, this annual observance celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and educates Americans about the value of a diverse workforce that welcomes everyone’s skills and talents. In other words, it’s all about inclusion.

Building a Pipeline for Talent with a Disability: Creating the Right Approach & Culture

My Son With a Disability Deserves the Same Opportunities as Everyone

Twenty four years ago my son, Jacob, was born with hydrocephalus, or water on the brain. After several surgeries, doctors told us Jacob would be living with both physical and intellectual disabilities. They also told us not to expect much of Jacob in terms of his ability to participate in civic life, community life and in work. And they plunged us into what I now call the “The Tyranny of Low Expectations.”

Building a Pipeline for Talent with a Disability: Creating the Right Approach & Culture

Employment & Multiple Sclerosis

MS affects more than 2.3 million worldwide.

If you have met one person with multiple sclerosis (MS), than you have met one person with MS — as no two people’s experiences are the same. MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms vary from person to person and range from numbness and tingling, to walking difficulties, fatigue, dizziness, pain, depression, blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted.

Building a Pipeline for Talent with a Disability: Creating the Right Approach & Culture

Recruiting People with Disabilities: Accessibility vs. Accommodation – Does the Difference Matter?

We know that we need to provide accommodations for individuals with disabilities in the application process, but how about accessibility? Is it really necessary to go that far?

Consider the following example. To make a restroom accessible, we would want to make it large enough for a wheelchair and provide handrails. We would adjust the toilet roll holder to the proper height and install automatic flushing. We might even provide a button to the side of door, to make it easier to open.