Library Accessibility Alliance
This is for hiring managers and individuals who sit on hiring search committees to tap into more diverse recruitment pool.
Introduction
With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, employers have a legal obligation to ensure that job candidates and employees are not discriminated against on the basis of an individual’s disability. More importantly, hiring managers and search committees play a key role in ensuring that the search process and workplace is accessible to all and that candidates have all the support they need to be successful throughout the interview process.
From an ADP 2021 Inclusion Summit panel summary:
People with disabilities bring unique skills, creativity, perspective and experience to their jobs and organizations. Here's why, said Catherine, who is blind: "Remember that only 17% of people with disabilities were born with a disability, so that means the rest of us acquired it along the way. A common talking point about this talent pool is that we are resilient, we're problem solvers and able to think outside the box," Catherine said.
Mota began the conversation by highlighting that disability inclusion starts with hiring and can often involve exploring areas for improvement… they had exclusionary language such as "must be able to lift 50 pounds," even when that wasn't required for the job. They found that, with that language, they were unintentionally deterring differently abled candidates from even applying for positions. Identifying and eliminating barrier terms — and getting feedback from the audiences you're targeting — can help improve job descriptions and other communications facing applicants with disabilities.
And according to a United Nations disability and employment fact sheet, for the U.S.:
National employment studies, including a 30-year analysis by DuPont de Nemours, show that persons with disabilities have equal or higher performance ratings, better retention rates and less absenteeism.
Not only is it necessary to hire people with disabilities to be inclusive and to be prepared for people becoming disabled, the organization benefits from it.
Core skills
Go through the different sources to learn about each topic.
- Inclusive job descriptions
- Inclusive Job Description Toolkit from Grand Valley State University
- Accessible job announcements and application process
- Guidelines for Physical and Mental Job Requirements from Ohio State University
- Implicit bias in the search and selection process
- Actively Addressing Unconscious Bias in Recruiting from Harvard Business School
- Accessible meetings
- Accessible Meeting and Event Checklist from Cornell University
- Planning an Accessible Event from University of Maryland
- Inclusive interviewing
- 6 Best Practices for Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Interview Process from Harvard Business School
- Accessible recruiting
- Digital Accessibility and Recruitment Guide (PDF) by Centre for Inclusive Design
- Five Steps to More Accessible and Inclusive Hiring from University of Washington
Other general sources
Check out some of these great additional resources:
- AI and Inclusive Hiring Framework (if using AI-enabled hiring tools)
- Ask JAN (Job Accommodation Network)
- Disability:IN (the digital accessibility program includes toolkits, webinars, and other resources)