Diversity in the workplace: An overview of disability employment disclosures among UK firms

People with disabilities (PWDs) defined as the world's largest minority stakeholder group continue to face significant barriers to labor market entry and corporate inclusion. The associated social and economic costs of supporting non‐working PWDs can be high and long term. Yet, their potential...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Corporate social-responsibility and environmental management 2019-01, Vol.26 (1), p.170-185
Main Authors: Khan, Nadeem, Korac‐Kakabadse, Nada, Skouloudis, Antonis, Dimopoulos, Andreas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
corporate disclosure
Disability
Economic conditions
Economic impact
Employment
Human capital
Labor
Labor market
Market entry
People with disabilities
Quality assessment
social sustainability
sustainability accounting and reporting
Sustainability reporting
United Kingdom
Workplace diversity
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Summary:People with disabilities (PWDs) defined as the world's largest minority stakeholder group continue to face significant barriers to labor market entry and corporate inclusion. The associated social and economic costs of supporting non‐working PWDs can be high and long term. Yet, their potential contribution and impact on human capital, firm productivity, and the innovative capacity of business entities are valuable but underutilized. The employment of PWDs has institutional and managerial implications for equitable opportunities, social mobility, and workplace diversity. This study assesses the quality of corporate disclosure on disability issues by firms in the United Kingdom, as a stepping stone for mainstreaming integration of PWDs into labor markets under the scope of corporate social accountability. We benchmark 274 UK sustainability reports against PWDs‐adapted indicators of the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, highlighting trends pertaining to disability employment. The findings suggest that corporate disclosures on the employment of PWDs are lacking. The implications for PWDs are highlighted considering firm employee and managerial policies and national and transnational regulatory frameworks, towards more meaningful reporting for better alignment between PWD expectations and firm practices.
ISSN:1535-3958
1535-3966
DOI:10.1002/csr.1669