Work, for many, is a necessity. For some, it’s a passion.

And for others, it’s an uphill battle just to get your foot in the door.

Did you know the unemployment rate for people aged between 15 and 64 in Australia is 4.9%, but that the unemployment rate for those with a disability is 9.4%?

In New Zealand, it’s 4.3% to 10.6%.

Recent research also found that 14% of Australians with a disability reported facing discrimination, with disability-based discrimination worst for unemployed people (affecting almost one-third of Australians with a disability).

In fact, discrimination on the basis of disability is the most common complaint in relation to employment discrimination, ranking higher than both race and gender.

While these statistics are bad enough already, there’s something even worse… the case studies that show just how counter-productive such discrimination is.

Across the globe, from the Americas to Africa, Europe, and Asia Pacific, companies that have stamped out discrimination and hired those with disabilities have noticed a number of benefits.

In the Republic of Korea, of Mugunhwa Electronics’ 160 employees ~80% had disabilities. Their Vice President noted that while labour productivity was around 70% of that of able-bodied workers, the near-zero defect rate more than made up for the disparity. Not only that, staff turnover was exceedingly low (less than 2%).

In the US, Carolina Fine Snacks found that hiring people with disabilities slashed employee turnover from “80% every six months to less than 5%”. Productivity rose from “60-70% to 85-95%”, absenteeism dropped from “20% to less than 5%”, tardiness dropped from “30%... to zero”, and the new employees’ attitude was contagious; “some of the non-disabled employees began to improve.”

These aren’t isolated incidents. National employment studies (including a 30-year analysis by DuPont de Nemours) have consistently shown that persons with disabilities had equal or higher performance ratings, less absenteeism and better retention rates (significantly reducing the high cost of staff turnover).

But again, in New Zealand and Australia (the land of the ‘fair go’), those with disabilities still face more discrimination when it comes to employment than any other group.

Doesn’t that sound like something we should fix?