Promoting Diversity and Overcoming Obstacles: Strategies for Hiring People with Disabilities

In recent decades, promoting diversity in the workplace has become increasingly important. Diversity includes the formation of teams and the release of their professional potential, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or disability.

The latest developments show that a large number of companies are now setting self-mandatory goals for diverse employee recruitment as part of their corporate social responsibility strategies. And while diversity and inclusion are essential pillars of an equitable workplace, despite increasing efforts, companies face significant challenges in creating a diverse workforce and equitably hiring people with disabilities.

At the same time, due to the shortage of skilled workers, companies often search for suitable employees for a long time or without success. And although many people with disabilities have suitable qualifications, the potential of this employment group is not fully exploited. Hiring people with disabilities is not only an ethical obligation, but also an opportunity for companies to benefit from a broader range of talents, perspectives and skills. Despite this, research and experience show that deep-rooted biases, unconscious discrimination and lack of awareness continue to influence hiring decisions in organizations. These behavioral economic barriers can lead to qualified people with disabilities being excluded from the workforce, which not only limits their personal opportunities but also deprives companies of valuable resources.

This issue also receives attention in the legal context, as the legislature requires companies to employ people with disabilities within the framework of the Ninth Social Code. In general, a statutory employment quota of five percent applies to all public and private companies – apart from exceptions for smaller companies – if they have an annual average of 60 jobs per month. However, employers are already obliged to employ people with severe disabilities if the company has an average annual size of 20 employees. If the employment quotas are not reached, compensation charges of up to 320 euros per month per unoccupied job may be incurred (§ 160 SGB IX). Companies with an annual average employment rate of zero percent will in future even pay 720 euros per unfilled compulsory job due to the recently announced law to promote an inclusive labor market.

This study is dedicated to analyzing the complex hurdles and behavioral economic influences that negatively influence the attitudes of people with disabilities and develops approaches to overcome these obstacles using nudging strategies and inclusive leadership strategies.