Receiving education and training that lead to a meaningful job, having a career, and being a valued contributor to a professional environment is taken for granted by many. Historically, however, people with disabilities have had limited opportunities to engage in employment due to discrimination, ableism, and low expectations despite the fact that employment is a basic human and civil right. This book is intended to build awareness and inspire action on the part of chief executive officers, human resource managers, and supervisory personnel to facilitate employment opportunities for people with disabilities. It will be of interest to policy makers and other professionals who support people with disabilities as part of their responsibilities in labor and social service ministries, vocational rehabilitation service providers, and employment service providers. The book is written by authors with backgrounds in a variety of disciplines related to the employment of people with disabilities across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

Hundreds of millions of people with disabilities around the world are out of work or underemployed. This book documents what can be done to improve the employment situation of people with disabilities globally

The World Report on Disability suggests more than a billion people totally experience disability. They generally have poorer health, lower education and fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. This report provides the best available evidence about what works to overcome barriers to better care and services.

In this hard-hitting polemical Karnani demonstrates what is wrong with today's approaches to reducing poverty. He proposes an eclectic approach to poverty reduction that emphasizes the need for business, government and civil society to partner together to create employment opportunities for the poor.

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For many years individuals with disabilities have been less likely to be employed than their working age nondisabled peers. The demographic profile for disability cuts across race, gender, age, and geography. Individuals with disabilities are more likely to be unbanked (30%) and to underutilize tax provisions because of a lack of knowledge about the Earned Income Tax Credit, or due to fear of losing important benefits such as health care. They are almost three times as likely to live in poverty as any other group. The Workforce Investment Act, which became effective on July 1, 2000, has opened doors to unprecedented opportunities for jobseekers with disabilities to receive assistance and intensive services to match abilities and interests with employer needs. The U.S. Department of Labor's Offi ce of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), also advances opportunities for jobseekers with disabilities by providing national leadership in policy development that works to enhance employment profitability and advance economic self-sufficiency. ODEP accomplishes this through partnering with strategic stakeholders in asset development, developing research and training materials and financial education, and testing best practices through national policy demonstration projects. Th is white paper is an example of ODEP's research into best practices in asset development. New strategies are being pioneered across the country that address both the challenges of advancing employment options for individuals with disabilities and moving forward with options to advance their economic security and self-sufficiency. Collaboration between One-Stop Career Centers, the Disability Program Navigators (DPNs, ) and Asset Building Coalitions are reaching out to low-income workers with disabilities to help them to utilize the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), financial education, and other savings and asset building options. DPNs are staff in over 40 states who help job seekers with disabilities navigate the local and state public systems of services to find the help they need to become employed and reach economic self-sufficiency. ETA and the Social Security Administration (SSA) jointly fund, implement, and evaluate this initiative designed to improve the workforce investment system's capacity to service customers with disabilities and employers. During the past three years, through a national campaign being led by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the National Disability Institute (NDI), individuals with disabilities have been encouraged to think about a better economic future that begins with participation in the workforce. The campaign, called "The Real Economic Impact Tour," is raising expectations about the value of work, saving, and asset building. This report focuses on three cities: Detroit, Jacksonville and Milwaukee, and the tie-in between the workforce development system and advancing self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities. These three diverse cities, in partnership with their local free tax preparation and asset building coalition and the Workforce Development Centers, DPNs, and/or One Stop Career Centers, have partnered to educate and assist people with disabilities to:

To what extent are people with disabilities fully included in economic, political and social life? People with disabilities have faced a long history of exclusion, stigma and discrimination, but have made impressive gains in the past several decades. These gains include the passage of major civil rights legislation and the adoption of the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This book provides an overview of the progress and continuing disparities faced by people with disabilities around the world, reviewing hundreds of studies and presenting new evidence from analysis of surveys and interviews with disability leaders. It shows the connections among economic, political and social inclusion, and how the experience of disability can vary by gender, race and ethnicity. It uses a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on theoretical models and research in economics, political science, psychology, disability studies, law and sociology.