The hiring of people with disabilities grows by 32% thanks to the implementation of new technologies

July 8. (Portaltic/EP) –

The hiring people with disabilities it has increased by 32 percent in 2022 and has exceeded the 13 percent generated in pre-pandemic times, figures that are due, in part, to the implementation of new technologies that promote inclusiveness in the workplace.

To celebrate the International Day of Appropriate Technologies on July 15, the Adeco Foundation, hand in hand with Keysight Technologies Sales Spain, has presented the 11th edition of the report Technology and Disability.

This analyzes the impact of new technologies on the inclusion of People with disabilities and seeks to know the perception of people with disabilities about the impact of the technological revolution.

To carry out this report, a survey was carried out in which men and women aged between between 18 and 55 years old who have a physical or mental disability.

To begin with, this study underlines that the pandemic has had a strong impact on the quality of life of people with disabilities, since it has reduced their purchasing power and their social relationships.

Despite this, this health situation has brought with it a process of sudden technological transformation and has consolidated the digital economy, opening up new opportunities for their labor inclusion in the medium term.

According to the latest data recorded by this foundation, after the collapse of the hiring of people with disabilities in 2020 by -25 percent, the recovery during 2020 materialized in growth of 32 percent in the hiring of workers with some disability.

OVER 15 YEARS TO ACHIEVE REAL INCLUSIVITY

Although a large part of those surveyed find the introduction of these technologies in the social fieldin his opinion, there are still years for this process to show its results and demonstrate this integration in the workplace.

So much so that 41 percent of those surveyed believe that their full employment will be reached in 2040 thanks to the integration of adapted technologiesthe potential of robotization to end certain barriers or the consolidation of teleworking.

On the contrary, 11.9 percent believe that technology will never have the capacity by itself to achieve the full labor inclusion of people with disabilities, since they believe that the social mentality is a factor that directly influences.

This report points out that leaving the labor inclusion of people with disabilities in the hands of digitization is deficient, since it is necessary to carry out awareness-raising work that is complementary to technological development.

In this regard, it is important to note that the participation of people with disabilities in the labor market is still low, with 34 percent employability. This determines that the 65.7 percent of people of working age he does not have a job nor is he looking for oneon many occasions because they do not have the resources to contribute their talent and abilities.

In relation to this, the general director of the Adecco Foundation considers that “new technologies are great allies to facilitate their access to employment. However, it will not be enough to ensure equal access to these, but to ensure that professionals with disabilities acquire digital skills to connect with the demands of companies”.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE QUALITY OF LIFE

Another of the data that emerges from this report is that 91.8 percent of those surveyed consider that the technological revolution has improved their overall quality of life.

This can be seen, for example, in the role played by social networks, since 75 percent say that new technologies and social networks have managed to generate a greater social fabric around disability.

In fact, 48 percent use different technological adaptations to overcome barriers and/or audiovisuals, either with virtual mice, covered keyboards, braille printers or augmentative zooms. Additionally, 27 percent uses assistive technology products on a daily basis.

In addition, while 91.8 percent believe that advances in this area can favor inclusion, 8.2 percent consider that technology does not respond as an ally in the inclusion process and that it does not improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, but it accentuates the inequality gap.

Some of these respondents state that they find barriers to managing new technologies due to complex use or accessibility problems: 44 percent say that they find it difficult to use them and 32 percent find accessibility problems. This is because they cannot operate certain devices due to lack of accommodations for their disability.

TELEWORK AS AN INCLUSION ACCELERATOR

In recent months, especially since the outbreak of the pandemic, teleworking has become one of the alternatives chosen by most companies.

For this reason and to prepare this report, the Adecco Foundation wanted to know what people with disabilities think of teleworking.

In this case, those who have a physical disability have preferred to work remotely (70 percent of those surveyed), as have people with a mental disability (46%).

To a lesser extent, people with sensory disabilities (46%) and intellectual disabilities (25%) prefer it. However, if all disabilities are taken into account, 46 percent of people prefer to teleworkcompared to 34 percent who would choose face-to-face work.

Only 20 percent opt ​​for a combination of both formulas, that is, for a hybrid work modality, which has been established in many companies as a result of the pandemic.