Within the framework of Disability Day on December 3, the Esade Institute of Social Innovation and the Randstad Foundation presented the report Políticas y prácticas en diversidad e inclusión (Diversity and inclusion policies and practices), according to which, 44% of workers say they would not accept a job in a company that did not make a proactive effort to improve its diversity and equality practices.

Recruiting disabled persons is, therefore, obviously a must for companies. In fact, as this report revealed, there advantages of having disabled employees are several: it improves productivity; attracts investors and talent by means of social policies; reduces turnover; attracts and retains talent; diversifies skills; improves the culture of collaboration; and enhances the company’s reputation.

According to Carlos Cortés, the author of the survey and an academic collaborator at Esade, “in the current climate, with employees expecting far greater social and environmental commitment from their companies, diversity is emerging as one of the challenges calling for progress. “Companies must not only have diverse teams, they must change how these teams are led and managed to ensure they are inclusive”.

The director of the Randstad Foundation, María Viver, explained that “for years now, we’ve been working on integrating disabled persons by means of training and employment. Thanks to specific data in this report, we can show companies all the opportunities of inclusive management.”

Increasing support for sustainability, diversity and transparency 

The report reveals that the companies that hire disabled persons make 28% more profits. Likewise, 86% of employees prefer companies that care about the same issues as them and 85% of people would work for a company that supports ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues.

In addition to this, according to a Randstad Workmonitor survey also cited in the report, 77% of workers think that a company’s values and purpose, including sustainability, diversity and transparency, are important when choosing an employer. In fact, 42% would refuse to work in a company not aligned with their own values.

Similarly, this report by the Randstad Foundation and the Esade Institute for Social Innovation mentions another recent study by Randstad Research about talent trends in 2023 according to which 81% of employers say that their D&I (Diversity and Inclusion) strategy is incorporated into their talent strategies and is an integral part of everything they do.

Situation of disabled persons

According to the Randstad Foundation and Randstad Research, more than 516,000 disabled people were in employment in Spain in 2020, the highest ever number. According to Spain’s employment bureau, SEPE, 26.9% of disabled persons are in employment (66% for people with no disabilities). The unemployment rate remains high, at 22.5%, although it has fallen 10 points since 2014. The current activity rate is 34.6%, a long way from the 77.7% of people with no disabilities.

Today, disabled persons are not only hired in order to comply with the law. According to the report, today the three main factors driving diversity are: complying with the law (48%), improving the well-being of workers (41%) and attracting and retaining talent (41%).

New considerations 

It must also be said that this new survey has revealed important considerations for really integrating disabled persons into the workforce, including the importance of taking advantage of the regulatory framework to promote diversity and, as regards inclusion, relying on the company’s commitment as conveyed by its strategies and effective policies.

The need to extend functional diversity into all career phases was also mentioned, and also the multiplier effect of an inclusive culture. The importance of prioritizing empathy and awareness was also highlighted because of unconscious disability bias; hence the most effective measures continue to be training and awareness. The importance of data, setting objectives and metering results was also pointed out, together with the benefits of publishing them.

Finally, the survey underlines that it is essential to address functional diversity from a multi-factorial approach and a holistic perspective that includes legal and strategy factors, corporate culture, an inclusive leadership model, talent management, training, communication and metering.