If not us, then who? The role of human resource development in supporting employment for people with disabilities

What is it about?

The purpose of this article is to challenge human resource development (HRD) professionals to acknowledge and accept their role in supporting the employment of people with disabilities and to commit to research and practice to this end, framing the discussion with the well-known question asked by the late civil rights activist and former US Representative, John Lewis: ‘If not us, then who? If not now, then when?’ After providing background on disability prevalence, its effects on employment, and the impact of disability employment policies, the article describes ways that HRD can better support such initiatives, based on existing cross-disciplinary literature. The article underscores the value of embracing a critical disability perspective and striving towards transformative approaches that go beyond basic inclusion practices to facilitate truly inclusive workplaces.

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Why is it important?

Employment for people with disabilities is an under-researched topic and contributes to the pervasive low employment rates for people with disabilities. Human resource development (HRD) as a field is uniquely positioned to support both businesses and people with disablities who want to work or are employed through the areas of training & development, organization development, and career development.