Disability in the Workforce: Untapped Potential

Even though people with disabilities want to work, their unemployment rate is nearly double that of non-disabled individuals—even as companies who prioritize workplace inclusion are better off.

Despite having a desire to find work, many people with disabilities face challenges finding employment in the workforce. As of January 2026, the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities was almost double that of non-disabled individuals. Especially in light of recent attempts by the current federal administration to roll back and de-incentivize programs that encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workforce, it is more important than ever to address the systemic barriers preventing people with disabilities from joining and thriving within the workplace, especially those that occur without our conscious knowledge.

While it's only one part of the puzzle, implicit biases against people with disabilities are a widespread and often overlooked component of discrimination in the workplace. Implicit biases are unconscious negative attitudes that one may hold against specific social groups, such as people with disabilities. We use biases in our everyday lives as shortcuts to help us interpret and navigate the world around us.

They can be helpful, quick, and low-energy ways to make decisions. But if left unchecked, even unintentional biases can undermine inclusion and perpetuate discrimination. Frequently, implicit negative attitudes present as affinity bias. This kind of bias describes our tendency to give preferential treatment to and gravitate towards individuals with whom we share experiences, interests, or demographics.

Affinity bias can be based on any trait, from superficial characteristics like being a dog person to more consequential characteristics like gender identity and disability status. While affinity bias helps bring us closer to people with common interests, it also means we tend to exclude people who don't look, think, or act like us. Even if they are highly qualified and capable, we may overlook those who are different from us solely because they are different.

Implicit bias often first rears its head in early interview and hiring processes. Similar to other minoritized groups, people with disabilities are less likely to receive callbacks from employers than non-disabled individuals. In fact, a recent field experiment in Sweden found that non-disabled job applicants received 33 percent more callbacks than wheelchair users with similar qualifications, even though their disability would not impact their ability to perform the job.

Another similar study found that applicants who disclosed a disability in their cover letter received 26 percent fewer expressions of employer interest than those who did not disclose. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that people with disabilities are facing workplace discrimination before they're even employed. This research strongly indicates that hiring managers are making baseless and often unconscious assumptions about the capability and productivity of people with disabilities despite their resumes proving their qualifications.

  Even once inside the workplace, implicit biases persist. In addition to hiring discrimination, people with disabilities are less likely to receive promotions than their non-disabled peers. A 2022 study by Samsung UK found that nearly 45 percent of people with disabilities concealed their identity because they feared it would make them less likely to land a promotion. Of those who did disclose, 40 percent reported feeling their colleagues valued them less because of their disability.

In another survey, 3/4ths of participants reported unconscious biases against people with disabilities as a barrier to job progression that they had personally experienced. Even if unintentional, employees with disabilities receive fewer opportunities for professional development than their non-disabled counterparts, to the point where nondisclosure seems necessary to avoid unfair treatment. Despite widely held biases, people with disabilities consistently prove to be assets in the workforce.

Employers who hire people with disabilities tend to experience financial benefits, including improved employee retention, increased profits, and greater cost-effectiveness. They also gain competitive advantages over other employers, including greater productivity, more innovation, and higher customer loyalty and satisfaction. A 2020 study also found that companies led by executives who focus on disability engagement grow profits 4.1 times faster than their peers.

In addition to financial benefits, workplaces that promote diversity experience gains in employee engagement. Given that most workplace accommodations cost little to implement, it's clear that creating an inclusive workplace should be a logical priority for all employers. It's also the right thing to do. At the end of the day, the onus for creating an inclusive workplace should fall on the workplace, not individual employees.

Here’s how to start: Emma Hills is an undergraduate psychology student and research assistant at Oregon State University. She is an alum of Dr. Bogart’s Psychology of Disability class.

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