Description:Today, organizational success depends upon its ability to embrace diversity. Employees from diverse backgrounds bring a diverse collection of skills and experiences. Although diversity is often used to refer to differences among individuals such as ethnicity, gender, age and religion, there is a growing awareness that disability is a natural part of diversity, and businesses can benefit by taking steps to ensure people with disabilities are represented in their workforce.
DEC1Additionally, Section 503 prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment against individuals with disabilities, and requires these employers to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain these individuals. Federal regulations established a nationwide 7% utilization goal for qualified individuals with disabilities.
Vocational rehabilitation and disability employment programs help people with disabilities enter the workforce, however these individuals are often under-employed, and employers don’t have a resource they can used to find qualified people with disabilities to fill higher level position s within their organization.
DEC2The Center for Disability Rights (CDR) is filling that need by providing a free service that connects employers interested in hiring people with disabilities with qualified candidates. Job seekers with disabilities who are eager to advance their career, change jobs, or replace a former position will have a recruitment and placement program working strictly on their behalf.