Almost half of businesses believe that a key barrier to the recruitment and retention of disabled employees is the lack of candidates, according to new research from global business collective, The Valuable 500.

This contrasts evidence from Government figures showing that there are one million disabled people in the UK who want to and can work but are being denied the opportunity. The data, highlighted by Virgin Media and Scope with their ground-breaking campaign ‘Work with Me’ was supported by an Opinium survey of 2,000 disabled people which found that when applying for jobs only half of applications result in an interview, compared with 69% for non-disabled applicants. 2021 Government figures show that the disability employment gap sits at 28.4%, a decrease year on year by just 0.7%. This shows a clear need for a shift away from misconceptions and taboos in recruitment.

One major factor behind the lack of job candidates with disabilities could be attributed to lack of representation of disability inclusion. Whilst there has been a growing awareness in the past year, it still doesn’t have its deserved share of voice in the broader business agenda. It is often a forgotten aspect in this conversation – particularly when it comes to business leadership where just 4% of CEOs have a disclosed disability. The Valuable 500 is working to tackle this critical issue by promoting better ‘story telling’ by business leaders with first-hand experience of disability. There are four major categories of disabilities – visual, hearing, motor and cognitive. Disabled people bring immense contributions to business and society as a whole, making up 15% of the global population. They bring diversity of thought, lived experience and a wealth of talent, all vital for the business sustainability agenda.

Further data from Valuable’s research highlighted that 85% of businesses acknowledge that disability inclusion should be at the heart of their business strategies. This shows a significant disconnect between ambition and action, an area which needs to be improved.

The research also found that only 58% have a policy in place that actively addresses disability inclusion – highlighting the need for change is still ongoing. In addition to this, 87% of companies feel that they have made progress on their Valuable 500 commitment since joining the collective, which is supported by the fact that 63% of companies now feature people with disabilities in their communications or marketing campaigns. However, less than half of the signatories have records of the percentage of the workforce that have a disability.

These initial insights derive from ongoing research conducted by the Valuable 500 members, through an in-depth survey across 500 companies, consisting of 22 million employees spanning 64 sectors and 41 countries. The full report will be released later this year.

Said Caroline Casey, Founder of The Valuable 500:

“Employers who have gone through two years of disruption are re-building and need to ensure that disability inclusion is at the heart of their agendas. What the research shows us today is that whilst many companies are striving to do just this, we still have a lack of representation and businesses still have a long way to shift the dial truly and irreversibly on disability inclusion. Eighteen per cent of the UK population have a disability and they need to be seen and heard. But more than this – we need to strive to fundamentally transform the global business system and fight for an inclusive society… At some point in our lives, every single one of us will experience disability and we all have a responsibility to make humanity function better.”

Paul Polman, Chairman of The Valuable 500 added:

“Having a diverse and inclusive workforce is a powerful driver for improved company performance, and this must extend to including people with disabilities. It’s not only the right thing to do, but also the smart and profitable thing to do for any business leaders looking to unlock talent, boost innovation and build a culture of trust, respect and inclusion throughout the company. 2022 must bring faster action to close the disability employment gap once and for all.”