People with disabilities in the business industry

Professor: Muhammad Farrukh Moin

Work by: Lakhal Imane / Marzak Raouya

Group: PGE-2-
Introduction
Unfortunately, we live in a world that considers people with disabilities as people
unable to work. People who are unfit, incompetent, and sometimes even considered "useless"
people. People with disabilities are under-represented in the workplace and are victims of
many biases and stereotypes due to their disability which can be overcome and may not create
any concern in terms of their performance in the workplace.

These disabilities can be numerous, sensory disabilities (anosmia, deafness, etc.),

mental disabilities (schizophrenia, depression, etc.), cognitive disorders (dyslexia, dysphasia,
etc.) or chronic illness. unemployment, especially long-term unemployment. They are also
less educated and older than the rest of the population. These differences are explained by the
difficulty of access to training and jobs. However, this handicap can be overcome, and may
not create any concern in terms of their performance in the workplace. Take the example of
Stephen Hawking, this famous and great British theoretical physicist and cosmologist.
Despite his crippling illness, this did not prevent him from being the source of several
discoveries which inspired many others, and which also contributed to the development of the
world. Discoveries among others: the discovery of the big bang, the mechanics of black holes,
the birth of galaxies, etc.

Today, in Morocco for example, the situation of disabled people has improved
enormously, we very often meet people in wheelchairs in companies occupying very
interesting and important positions. People with Down syndrome who enter the world of
work, receiving all the rights they need and are totally entitled to. People are more and more
aware of this point, and are more aware of this subject, and therefore make more efforts to
accept and integrate people with disabilities into our society.

Let’s discuss and compare the situation of people with disabilities in the business
industry in Morocco and the UK.

 IN THE UK:
Disabled entrepreneurs are an important part of the UK economy, with disabled-owned small
businesses accounting for 8.6 percent of total UK business turnover.

Disabled workers are more likely than non-disabled workers to pursue self-employment.
While this is sometimes due to a lack of appropriate employment opportunities, many
disabled entrepreneurs have chosen self-employment to fill a market gap, disrupt a sector, or
simply have control over their own time.

Disability employment rate, people aged 16 to 64, UK, Q2  2019 to Q2  2021
Number of disabled people in employment, people aged 16 to 64, UK,  Q22019 to Q2  2021

 Since 2019 to 2021, there were an increase of 300.000 on the year, an increase of
390.000 since Q2 2019 and an overall increase of 1.5m since Q2 2013.
 The disability employment rate was 52.7% in Q2 2021, compared to 81% for non-
disabled people. For disabled people, this is an increase of 0.3 percentage points on the
year, an increase of 0.1 percentage points since Q2 2019 and an overall increase of 9.0
percentage points since Q2 2013.

The disability employment rate is lower for disabled people:

- With a mental health condition
- With five or more health conditions

Disabled people are more likely to be working in health, retail, and education than other
industries.
  In Morocco:
For a long time, people with disabilities were kept at home for social reasons, but
today the regulations dealing with disability are relatively new. The law of 1982 indicates that
a person with a disability is someone who is unable to perform his or her vital functions
because of the disability. The Moroccan constitution stipulates in Article 34 that : “ Persons
with disabilities are individuals with sustained physical, mental, intellectual or sensory
disabilities whose interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective
participation in society on an equivalent premise with others ».

People with disabilities, who account for 6.8% of the Moroccan population (2.3
million people), are already among the most vulnerable groups in the country during times of
crisis. It is estimated that two-thirds of them do not have access to social protection, and that
the vast majority of those who do are affiliated with RAMED (Moroccan Medical Assistance
Scheme for the most vulnerable families). Similarly, access to technical aids (crutches,
walking frames, wheelchairs, etc.) remains extremely limited, with only one in every three
people with disabilities receiving the technical assistance that their condition requires.
Indeed, the crisis has exacerbated the economic difficulties of people with disabilities,
as many of them were in precarious jobs or worked in the informal sector and were thus
among the first to be affected. Their health has deteriorated significantly, both physically and
psychologically, as a result of the interruption of rehabilitation care and the frustration of
losing the progress made.

Type of disability and type of occupation in the business industry in Morocco

Types of jobs of active people with disabilities

According to the survey, one in every three PWDs (32.3%) is self-employed, 15.1%
work in a privately-owned company or as a parental figure for a relative, and 69.04% are not
compensated for their work. Work in administrations, organizations, and cooperatives
accounts for only 3.3% of total employment, with government departments accounting for
1.9%.
The difficulty in obtaining a job is explained by the low level of education. In terms
of wages, approximately 97% of PWDs do not receive them. Only 2.4% of those aged 15 and
up currently receive compensation or other benefits as a result of their medical issues. An
insurance agency, a shared insurance agency, or a standardised savings support pays an
annuity to 43.2% of them. Following an industrial accident, 35.9% of PWDs receive a
pension. Others (8.2%) receive payments from their descendants, but two out of every three
claims to be uninsured.

The employment rate for PWDs of working age is 13.6% more than 103.000
individuals in a populace of PWDs of working age assessed at more than 776.000 people.
This rate is 3 times lower than the national work rate.