Building employer demand: literature review

A review of the literature on the topic of employment participation amongst people with disability, focusing on identifying the key drivers and barriers to employment and the role of employers to this end. This work will help to inform the development of an evidence-based communications campaign targeting employers across Australia.

The review offers a useful perspective on the drivers and barriers to employing people with disability. While gaps in the available literature are noted, the review provides considerable insight into the knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of employers around disability, and how these shape and influence their openness to consider employing a person with disability

The barriers to employing people with disability are complex, and reflect deep seated prejudice, low self-efficacy and business culture. This highlights the challenges involved in communicating on this issue. It is therefore important to be realistic about what communications can achieve, and identify communications objectives accordingly.