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The Access Ability strategy report synthesizes findings from research and roundtables about organizational inclusion of employees with disabilities. The findings reflect lessons learned by employers, by practitioners supporting employers, and by employees working to identify possible directions to make workplaces more equitable for employees with disabilities. Research for the Access Ability strategy report included a review of publicly available literature, qualitative and quantitative data collection from public governmental and employer sites, and an environmental scan of Canadian employer initiatives on inclusion and accessibility and the resources that support them. The report also reflects qualitative input from the participants of the Access Ability roundtable series, during which [Public Policy Forum] PPF gathered candid observations from diverse representatives from medium and large employers across Canada and across sectors about their efforts to improve inclusion of employees with disabilities. Participants included executives and leaders from human resources, equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives and employees with disabilities across these roles.

Access Ability asked questions such as: Why do inequities persist for people with disabilities in the workplace? What have organizations learned from their years of practice and progress in disability inclusion? Why do strategies to improve disability inclusion sometimes fail to produce measurable results or lasting change, even when organizational support and leadership motivation are high? While the Access Ability project did not expect to fully answer these questions, they served as a rationale and grounding point for research and consultation - and an invitation for further research and policy directions. The research findings from this project have been used as a foundation for the Access Ability Executive Program, a PPF Academy program which takes an experiential peer learning and change management approach to advancing disability inclusion.

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Ensuring access to postsecondary education (PSE) for all qualified individuals is key to Ontario's future competitiveness and equally critical from an equity perspective. This paper provides an empirical analysis of access to PSE among a number of under-represented (and minority) groups in Ontario, including comparisons to other regions. Having parents that did not attend PSE is the most important factor across the country, and the effects are even greater in Ontario than in some other regions. Being from a low-income household is considerably less important than parental education, and the income effects are even smaller in Ontario than in certain other regions. Aboriginal and disabled youth are also strongly under-represented groups in PSE in Ontario, driven entirely by their lower university participation rates, offset to different degrees by higher college participation rates. Rural students are also significantly under-represented (though to a lesser degree) in university, but again go to college at somewhat higher rates. Furthermore, for these latter groups, Ontario does not compare favourably to other regions. The children of immigrants are much more likely to go to university but somewhat less likely to attend college almost everywhere. Being from a single parent family has little independent effect on access to PSE, as is also the case for being a Francophone outside of Quebec, the latter effect in some cases actually being positive. Intriguingly, although females generally have significantly higher PSE (especially university) attendance rates than males, females in under-represented groups are generally more disadvantaged than males.

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In light of the innumerable changes in post-secondary environments that reflect a movement toward inclusive education and a reliance on real-world evaluations in the form of field placements, [the authors] report on findings from a collaborative research project that examines field placement experiences from a variety of perspectives. [The] research project, prompted by [the authors'] own observations of the barriers to equity for field placement students with disabilities at [their] institution, is an attempt to reflect on [their] disability service and [their] teaching and learning practices. [The authors] expanded on the traditional focus in the field by creating a multi-dimensional cross-sector collaboration and by including the perspectives of Professional Program Directors, Field Placement Coordinators, and students with disabilities. [The authors] found that all stakeholders reported barriers to success in field placement for students with disabilities, saw few solutions, and anticipated the barriers to continue into the world of employment. [The authors] discuss these findings in relation to the implications for teaching and learning and for disability service provision in post-secondary institutions.

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Participation in the labour market is an important part of life for Canadians seeking personal independence and long-term financial security. Participation in the labour market can be especially challenging for people with disabilities because they can face several additional barriers compared to persons without a disability. In addition to finding employment, a person with a disability may be limited in the amount or kind of work they can do; they may require workplace accommodations such as modified hours or duties or structural modifications; they may experience discrimination, or they may encounter any combination of these barriers. This report uses information from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) to explore the employment experiences of people with disabilities to gauge their success in the labour market in 2006. People without disabilities are utilised as a comparative group. Following a 2006 employment profile of people with disabilities, this report provides analysis of changes in the labour market experiences of people with disabilities between 2001 and 2006. The final section of this report explores barriers to employment for people with disabilities including the disability itself as a barrier, workplace accommodations and perceived workplace discrimination.

Source: Statistics Canada website, Show less

In this paper, Gorman observes that adult educators often think only of the practical aspects of education for adults with intellectual disabilities. She believes that more attention should be paid to ways in which theoretical, political and economic approaches can be employed to assist them with their everyday experiences and to help combat human rights abuses. She maintains that the processes and structures used at present must be closely examined to ensure that they meet the needs of the intellectually disabled.

Selected papers, roundtables and symposia are indexed from TD/TNC 70.310 to TD/TNC 70.347. Volumes of papers are indexed from TD/TNC 70.306 to TD/TNC 70.309. Show less

The Ontario government recognizes the importance of ensuring equality of access to postsecondary education (PSE). One group that has been and continues to be underrepresented in PSE is students with disabilities.In [Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario] HEQCO's early research and review plans, students with disabilities were highlighted as a group that is underrepresented in PSE, particularly in university (HEQCO, 2008; 2009). HEQCO subsequently funded several research studies on disability, both directly as a focus of the research and indirectly as a segment within larger studies. This paper will summarize what has been learned by: (1) describing how and what information is collected pertaining to participation and attainment rates; (2) describing the in-school experiences of students with disabilities, including their engagement and service usage; (3) describing research findings for specific types of disability; (4) describing these students' labour market outcomes and experiences.

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[Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 has disrupted many industries. Jobs in some sectors have been lost forever, while other sectors have gone through significant changes with new jobs now emerging. What has emerged from the pandemic thus far is a 'K-shaped' recovery where some businesses and industries are recovering quickly - or have already fully recovered - while others are still struggling. In some areas, such as for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - and particularly for firms in the hospitality, retail and entertainment industries - the impact has been deep and threatens to be lasting. This report explores many of the factors underlying these divergent realities, including sectoral and industry differences, and pays special attention to those factors that have resulted in members of diverse groups being disproportionally impacted. More specifically, this report aims to explore how COVID-19 has exacerbated barriers to skills development, upskilling, reskilling and skills utilization faced by women, Indigenous peoples, racialized people, young people and persons with disabilities.

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Work-integrated learning (WIL) is playing an increasing role in preparing students with the skills and experience needed for the job market. Not all students experience WIL equally and many encounter barriers at different points in the process. This report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) finds that women, those with disabilities and immigrants have significant disparities in their experience with WIL. System-wide administrative data on WIL in Ontario is currently unavailable but would allow policymakers and researchers to further investigate the differences between demographic groups and develop more inclusive and responsive programs.

HEQCO recently published a report, 'Working (and learning) online: improving remote work-integrated learning experiences for students and employers' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 156.54], discussing the benefits and challenges of remote-based WIL, based on a fall 2021 survey of 312 students asking questions about their experience and satisfaction during their WIL placements in the 2020-21 academic year. This data set was used again to examine student experiences and varying rates of satisfaction with WIL across institutions, sectors and academic programs, and across delivery types (i.e., remote or in-person) through the lens of identity, including gender, disability and immigration status.

Respondents who identified as men were 10 per cent more likely to say they were satisfied with their WIL experience compared to women. Women were more likely to be in unpaid WIL placements, more likely to say they felt uncomfortable at work, that they had challenges with work culture and that they experienced barriers during their WIL. Additionally, women experience harassment and inappropriate behaviour in WIL disproportionately with 20 per cent of women in in-person WIL placements reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour during their placement compared to only 1 per cent of men. Students with disabilities were less likely to express satisfaction in WIL than students without disabilities, particularly in the application and interview stages of the process. They also were more likely to experience mental health challenges and feelings of being ignored by others in the workplace. Immigrants expressed a similar level of satisfaction with their WIL experience compared to students who were born in Canada. However, they reported greater challenges at the application, interview and hiring stages. Immigrants were also 23 per cent more likely to say they experienced barriers during the WIL placement itself.

Data about diversity and inclusion in WIL are scarce and evaluations rarely include a diversity lens. A lack of data reflecting the personal lived experiences of underrepresented students makes it difficult to address equity gaps in WIL activities and outcomes. Surveys and qualitative research are useful tools for identifying gaps at a high level and illuminating areas for further research, but in the absence of system-wide data it is not possible to conduct analyses within smaller populations, such as individual First Nations groups within Indigenous groups, specific identities within the LGBTQAI+ community or disaggregating data for racialized students.

Edited summary from publisher's website. Show less

Work-integrated learning (WIL) programming has gained considerable momentum across the Ontario university sector, fueled by support from numerous stakeholders, including industry, government and students. WIL has been framed as a solution to the present 'skills mismatch' in the province, and as a way to smooth university graduates' transition into the labour market. There are numerous ongoing industry and government efforts to improve access to WIL programming across postsecondary education (PSE) in Ontario, given the many perceived benefits available through it. To date, however, little effort has been made by researchers to explore issues of diversity and inclusion within this space. Through this report, we aim to ameliorate this gap in existing academic and policy research on WIL.

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The Survey on Employment and Skills is conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research, in partnership with the Future Skills Centre and the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University. In early 2020, the Survey on Employment and Skills began as a project designed to explore Canadians' experiences with the changing nature of work, including technology-driven disruptions, increasing insecurity and shifting skills requirements. Following the onset of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, the survey was expanded to investigate the impact of the crisis on Canadians' employment, earnings and work environments. A second wave of the survey was conducted in December 2020, and a third wave in June 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led many businesses to shift to a work-from-home (WFH) model, relying on virtual meetings to communicate and stay connected with employees. While some aspects of these changes have been positive, there have also been some challenges, including fewer social interactions and a blurring of the line between work and home. This shift has been particularly challenging for employees belonging to equity-deserving groups, which is contrary to the notion that the flexibility of WFH has been particularly embraced by these groups. In this report, we combine data from Wave 2 and Wave 3 of the Survey on Employment and Skills to investigate what impact these changes have had on workplace discrimination, which in this study is defined as 'discrimination or unfair treatment in the workplace'. We examine the rates of workplace discrimination across gender, race, Indigenous status, age and disability. We also highlight other notable patterns by occupation, sector and work setting.

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