27 Employment Accessibility
Chapter on Managers’ Reactions to Applicants and Employees with Disabilities Published
Our chapter entitled Managers’ reactions to applicants and employees with disabilities (Lefcoe, Bonaccio, & Connelly, 2023) was published in De Gruyter Handbook of Disability and Management (Beatty, Hennekam, & Kulkarni, Eds., 2023). Employers frequently hold misconceptions and negative attitudes towards job applicants and employees with disabilities. In this chapter, we review the literature on manager reactions to individuals with disabilities during three key stages of the employment cycle of individuals with disabilities: recruitment and selection, the provision of accommodations, and performance management. We consider the organizational context, in particular organizational size and climate, diversity policies and support from senior leadership as important contextual factors that may shape managers’ behaviors and attitudes towards individuals with disabilities. We end the chapter by presenting future research opportunities to guide further study in this important area of inquiry.
Contributors: Catherine Connelly
Connect to Careers Job Fair: Improved Onsite Accessibility and Accommodations
In 2023, Connect to Careers Job Fair increased its onsite accessibility and disability inclusion support. This included a designated accessibility booth where staff and volunteers were available to provide wayfinding support and answer questions from job seekers. Staff and volunteers at the booth were also trained to support attendees who were blind or partially sighted so that they could fully participate in the event. Additionally, there was a quiet area at the event for attendees who needed to take a break from the busy environment.
Connect to Careers Job Fair is a proud partnership between McMaster University, Mohawk College, Redeemer University, Workforce Planning Hamilton, Invest in Hamilton and the City of Hamilton.
Contributors: Student Success Centre: Katherine Hesson-Bolton, Talent Partnerships and Employer Relations, Manager and Gisela Oliveira, Associate Director (Skill Development and International Student Support)
Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Career Access Professional Services and ASpectrum Inc.
This year, ASpectrum Inc. and Career Access Professional Services (CAPS) within the Student Success Centre (SSC) advanced their partnership to raise awareness of ways to support neurodiverse employees in the workplace. This included an interactive session and resources provided to members of the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) EDI Task Force, with staff from co-operative education, employer engagement development, on-campus employment, financial services and official accredited faculty.
Session topics were informed by a pre-session survey that assessed existing staff knowledge about neurodiversity. As a result, the session focused on communicating with neurodiverse students, identifying accessibility and accommodation opportunities, and best practices identified through the CAPS service delivery model, including examples of accommodations for students and alumni who identify as neurodivergent.
Contributors: Katherine Hesson-Bolton, Talent Partnerships and Employer Relations, Manager, Student Success Centre and Karen Clarke, Director of Operations, Aspectrum Inc.