Likelihood of Employment Among Persons with Disabilities Increases by 22%

Around 130 million persons with disabilities worldwide face a disproportionately higher risk of poverty compared to others. They are often excluded from education systems and decent employment opportunities. In addition, the extra costs associated with disability are rarely covered adequately through social protection and support programmes. Despite these challenges, the likelihood of employment among young persons with disabilities has increased by 22 per cent, according to recent evidence.

Speakers at the International Conference on Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, organised by BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and the Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action (PENDA), emphasised on the first day the urgent need for reliable, evidence-based data to identify effective initiatives for reducing poverty among persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries.

The two-day international conference began on Sunday, January 18, at BRAC Inn in Mohakhali, Dhaka.

Dr Morgan Banks, Associate Professor of Disability Research at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) under LSHTM, highlighted that excluding adults with disabilities from the labour market results in economic losses ranging from 1 to 8 per cent of GDP across 12 countries. In Bangladesh, young persons with disabilities are five times more likely to be out of education and employment than their non-disabled peers. However, both in Bangladesh and globally, there remains a severe shortage of robust evidence on which interventions are truly effective in improving employment outcomes for persons with disabilities.

Dr Banks stressed the importance of research and training programmes aimed at expanding opportunities for unemployed and impoverished young persons with disabilities. Citing evidence from BRAC’s STAR+ programme, he noted that participation in the programme increased the likelihood of employment among young persons with disabilities by 22 per cent.

Due to the lack of strong evidence, initiatives undertaken by governments, implementing agencies, and donor organisations to promote economic inclusion often fail to deliver cost-effective or meaningful outcomes. Speakers therefore called for a shift in both the understanding and implementation of inclusion strategies.

Vice-Chancellor of BRAC University, Dr Syed Ferhat Anwar, said, “Inclusion does not mean defining people by their disabilities; rather, it means recognising how they can contribute. When barriers and gaps are properly addressed, opportunities for contribution expand significantly.”

Meanwhile, Tahera Jabin, Social Development Adviser at the British High Commission, stated: “The United Kingdom is committed to leading global efforts on disability-inclusive development. Through PENDA, we are investing in generating high-quality evidence that partners and policymakers can use to strengthen education, skills, and livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh and around the world.”

The conference brought together academics, persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, policymakers, implementers, and donor agencies working on disability and economic inclusion. Discussions focused on evidence-based strategies to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty among persons with disabilities, as well as ways to strengthen collaboration between national and international stakeholders.

DBTech/JAM/EK/OR