As Canada marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month, disability advocates in Windsor-Essex say employers are missing out on a valuable — and often overlooked — talent pool. John Azlen uses a wheelchair for mobility and estimates he’s attended around 100 interviews throughout his career. The bias, he said, isn’t always spoken, but it’s easy to spot. He recalls arriving for interviews and watching enthusiasm fade as soon as he met the employer face to face. “Sometimes I can almost see them shrink a little bit,” he said. “Like, ‘Oh, now I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. How do I approach this? How do I talk to that person?’” That kind of reaction, advocates say, stems from a persistent stigma — one built on misconceptions about costs, productivity, and workplace adjustments. At Erie Shores Health Care, hospital officials said bringing in staff with disabilities has strengthened not only patient care, but workplace culture. “It should be a priority for the region, for the province, for the country,” said Danica McPhee, equity, diversity, inclusion and indigeneity coordinator for the Leamington hospital. “I use a wheelchair full-time — so I know the challenges of entering the workforce, but I also know the value that you can add to an organization.” According to McPhee, there are widespread myths around the cost of accommodating workers with disabilities. In reality, she said, the average cost is under $300 — often for simple tools such as adaptive software or modified workspaces. “When people see others being accommodated and valued for who they are, it opens the door for others to embrace their own diversity,” she said. Community Living Essex County runs Career Compass, a program designed to connect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to local employers. “There is a little bit of a stigma when we deal with employers who may just not really be aware of what we do and of what the people that we support are capable of,” said Tim Davidson, supports director for Community Living Essex County. Davidson said many business owners want to be inclusive but are hesitant, worried about saying the wrong thing or unsure how to accommodate workers with different needs. That’s where “job carving” comes in: Tailoring positions around an employee’s abilities while filling a company’s unmet needs. “You would take a job that maybe doesn’t already exist at a certain location, but it’s a need that they have,” Davidson explained. “We found the right person to fill that need — so it’s a win-win all the way around.” He said employers who have hired through the program often find those workers are among their most loyal and productive. “People who we’ve helped get jobs, on average, stay at their job longer, have far less sick time, and are just, in general, happier and more satisfied doing a job,” he said. For Azlen, the desire to work and to prove himself remains strong. “The fact that we have to work twice or three times as hard as the next person to even just get the interview and get the job — we’re also going to translate that into the actual work that we’re doing for you,” Azlen said. “We’re going to work harder because we feel like we have to prove our value to you.” National Disability Employment Awareness Month is a month-long campaign every October that recognizes the contributions of workers with disabilities and promotes inclusive hiring across Canada and the U.S. In Canada, the awareness effort is led nationally by groups such as the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN) and Employment and Social Development Canada, with support from provincial and municipal partners.
