Despite legislative mandates, many individuals with disabilities still face significant barriers during the hiring process.
“As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to building a diverse workforce. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply without regard to race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Should you require accommodation, please reach out.”
I’ve seen this boilerplate hundreds of times across many job postings that have permeated my screen. Of course, it stems from legislation such as the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which mandate companies to accommodate workers with disabilities.
It’s More than a Checkbox
Part of the issue lies with the fact of how businesses — and societies overall — tend to conceptualize accessibility.
Got a disability? Okay, let us know and we will accommodate you. That’s great, but the buck usually stops there —at least, that’s the mentality I’ve seen — and accessibility is a lot more than that. It’s a lot more than just a checkbox that companies tick off when they comply with AODA guidelines.
We often see this in how companies incorporate the boilerplate accessibility statement such as the one above in their job postings. This blanket statement is usually included at the end of the job description, positioned as an afterthought, and often in a small font — as seen in the blurb below — this often results in accessibility getting lost in the flurry of job details.
If you enjoy freedom on the job to work independently, but you also crave the support of a team, and the challenge of variety and interesting detail-oriented work, you will excel in this role.
Send us your resume to get the process started! We will contact you if we think you might be a good fit for the role.
Typically, our recruitment process includes a phone screening, as well as a series of face-to-face interviews. Join our team and let your talents shine!
[Company name] welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates throughout the recruitment and assessment process. All prospective employees must pass a background check.
Make Job Postings Accessible
What’s often alarming is how companies include this AODA statement in their job postings, but the rest of the ad is inaccessible. This further cements the perception that accessibility is conceptualized as a mere label, a checklist that one must check off and then they are done.
There are a number of things employers can do to make their job postings more accessible:
- Watch for wording that may exclude people with disabilities.
- Incorporate plain language.
- Make it easy for screen readers to follow.
- Ensure the job posting is free of jargon.
Offer Proactive Accommodations to Everyone
Accommodations are usually, by nature, a reactive process. People reach out if and when they need accessibility support. But that doesn’t mean employers can’t proactively make the hiring process more accessible.
Consider the common accommodation of receiving interview questions beforehand, especially for people who are neurodivergent or have executive functioning difficulties. In many interviews, I’ve requested and received this as an accommodation.
But in one job interview, to my delight, the employer sent me the questions, as they say, to “provide a heads-up on the structure and the questions that will guide the interview to allow preparation and reflection beforehand.”
As I told them, “not a lot of employers do this.”
And it got me thinking — why don’t companies make it common practice to provide interview questions ahead of time? By offering these proactive accommodations, employers are not only making the recruitment process more universally accessible, but they’re also giving the sense that they genuinely want to accommodate people with disabilities and demonstrate a genuine commitment to inclusion.
Make Disability Front & Centre
In stark contrast to the AODA boilerplate statement appended to the end of job postings as an afterthought, I’ve seen job descriptions that put disability at the forefront.
How? These job ads specifically invite people with disabilities to apply. They ask people to collaborate on making the recruitment process more accessible — as opposed to simply asking for accommodation requests. They highlight inclusive and diverse communication styles in their language, as opposed to listing qualifications (e.g., impeccable interpersonal skills) that may result in people with disabilities feeling like they don’t qualify.
In short, accessibility goes beyond simply including that boilerplate statement at the bottom of job postings. It means making a substantial effort to consider and prioritize the needs of people with disabilities. After all, we are an untapped pool of talent who can bring new experiences into your workplace. This not only benefits people with disabilities but also enriches the organization as a whole.
Guest blog by Samuel Dunsiger, MEd (he/him), Accessibility and Disability Advocate. Our newsletter and blogs feature personal opinions and diverse perspectives on diversity and inclusion. While individual articles may not reflect every reader’s view, we value the diversity of opinions and respect our contributors’ insights.
