Just six in 10 Canadians with disabilities have jobs. Employers can raise that number, say researchers and BC’s social development minister.

Katie Miller knows what it means to be put in a box.

Miller remembers one of her first jobs in the fast food industry, where she felt stuck cleaning tables instead of being given a chance at the cash register.

“When it comes to the hiring field, I find it’s quite difficult to be accepted when you’re labelled. Because there’s this idea that you’re bringing in this disability,” explained Miller, who has autism.

Today, Miller is part of a two-year B.C. research project that aims to flip the script on disability in the workplace.

The New Inclusive Economy is building a blueprint for how to open up B.C. businesses to disabled workers and create a labour market that works for everyone.

The project, led by Inclusion Powell River, is collecting inclusive labour practices from employers across the province with the aim of mapping out how to meet government goals to increase the employment rate of disabled people, who are statistically underemployed.

Source: Flipping the Script on Disability in the Workplace | The Tyee