Do corporate DEI statements lead to more people with disabilities getting hired? A study in the Disability & Health Journal looks at hiring outcomes for people with disabilities.
This plain language summary is part of a new series sharing highlights from the Disability and Health Journal.
Why was this study done?
Companies use Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements to signal they’re inclusive. However, bias may still show up in the hiring process. This can affect people with disabilities who are seeking employment. This study looks at how DEI statements affect company hiring outcomes for people with disabilities.
What did this study show?
- Invisible disabilities are treated differently in the hiring process.
- Mental health disabilities are more stigmatized than neurological disabilities.
- Companies with more heartfelt DEI statements hire more people with invisible disabilities. These statements increase positive perceptions of employability and reduce perceptions of risk.
- Explicit values and goals around inclusion can shape the outcomes of hiring.
What can we learn from this study?
Heartfelt commitments to equity and inclusion were shown to increase inclusive hiring outcomes. Companies can signal their goals for inclusion. This can improve hiring of people with disabilities. DEI statements are an important signal about these goals. They can signal externally to customers and job candidates. They also signal to current employees, including people with hiring power. Boilerplate language about being an equal opportunity employer was less impactful on hiring.
More research could examine how DEI statements can integrate more in company culture. This could help with understanding how to build more inclusive workplaces.
Learn more about this study
Many companies are trying to improve their hiring practices to be more inclusive. These changes are meant to benefit more historically marginalized communities. This includes people with disabilities. Past studies looked at what attracts people with disabilities to apply for jobs. These studies have looked at DEI statements on company websites and messaging in job ads. They found that job seekers respond best to ads with more heartfelt language. This contrasts with a lot of more traditional ads which use legal language.
Companies can signal their intent to be disability inclusive. This is just one way they can take action to improve hiring of people with disabilities. They must also make sure their hiring process is free from bias. Bias is hard to identify and can be unconscious in an interviewer. Job candidates with disabilities are skeptical about company commitments to inclusion. DEI statements don’t always mean a company can practice inclusion.
Data shows that there is an employment gap in the U.S. People with disabilities who can work are less likely to be employed. Employer stigma may be contributing to this gap. Bias may exist among people with hiring power. They may believe that people with disabilities have:
- low productivity
- high absentee rates
- greater need for supervision
- costly accommodations
- legal liabilities related to their employment
- complicated team dynamics
However, not all disabilities are treated the same. Disability stigma may be higher for people with less visible disabilities. They are sometimes more scrutinized by employers for their access needs.
This study looks at ways to improve the hiring process for people with disabilities. It asks if different invisible disabilities are treated differently. It also asks if priming a hiring manager to think about inclusion reduces bias in hiring.
Research on priming suggests that what a person observes can affect later behavior. Observing a trait, behavior, idea, or relationship will influence that person’s perception. Priming can also happen with values and associations. In this study, it is suggested that company value statements inspire employees to embody those values. This affects decision-making. The effectiveness of this signal on hiring managers is not understood. Studying language at a company is the first step in understanding company culture.
This study looks at a few factors:
- The use of DEI language by companies, and whether it was heartfelt or legalistic.
- Disability Type of applicants (none, visible, or invisible)
- The Candidate’s tone (warm or overconfident)
Heartfelt corporate DEI statements made hiring managers view candidates with disabilities more positively. Overall, candidates with invisible disabilities were rated as less employable. They were seen as being more risky. They were also seen as having less integrity and lower negotiation skills. Candidates who were wheelchair users were ranked more positively. Candidates with visible disabilities were ranked as the most employable people with disabilities. The candidate with bipolar disorder was ranked as the least employable candidate. People with bipolar disorder were viewed more negatively than people with epilepsy.
Hiring managers responded positively when a candidate talked about their disability openly. They also appreciated positive comments from the candidate that indicated competency and confidence. However, overconfidence was viewed as negative when a candidate had bipolar disorder. Overconfidence did make a candidate appear to be a better negotiator overall. However, candidates with bipolar disorder who appeared overconfident were rated lower in integrity. They were also rated less employable and riskier to hire.
How was this study done?
This survey included 1655 individuals who participated in an online survey. People were included if they had management experience at work. Of the study participants:
- 77% were between the ages of 25 and 54
- they were 43% male, 56% female, 1% other
- 91% had some college education or higher
- 82% were employed full or part time
- 91% had familiarity with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Participating hiring managers were told to imagine they worked at a fictitious company called Electris. They were given information about the company’s needs. They were also given information about a potential job candidate. The company description was sometimes made to include heartfelt DEI language. Other times the description was made to be more legalistic. The study also presented candidates to the hiring manager who had different disabilities. Some had spinal cord injuries and used wheelchairs. Others had epilepsy or bipolar disorder. The study also presented candidate applications as either warm or overconfident.
Legal DEI language included a basic statement about how the company doesn’t discriminate. It included a list of 19 categories that are exempt from discrimination. The more heartfelt language was personal, and aimed at people with disabilities. Those messages indicated that the company was removing employment barriers and providing accommodations. This study reviewed general reactions to the candidate. After viewing a candidate, hiring managers completed a survey. They answered questions to rank the job candidate on:
- employability
- perceived risk to hire the person
- trustworthiness and reliability
- warmth and sincerity
- arrogance, intolerance and overconfidence
- negotiation skills
- competence
Answers around trustworthiness, warmth, arrogance and competence were combined. This grouping became a way to measure perceived integrity. The responses were ranked by a coder.
Limitations
- We don’t know enough about how intentions around inclusion affect corporate culture. This language might need to be included in day-to-day company practices. It may also need to be practiced day-to-day to affect the lives of employees with disabilities.
- This study’s design might not translate to real-life practice. This study uses a fictitious company and applicants. The reactions to applicants might be biased because of hiring manager anonymity. Alternatively, there could be bias where people with disabilities are viewed more favorably. In this scenario, hiring managers will not actually hire or work with candidates.
Strengths
- This study emphasizes that not all disabilities are treated equally in society. This study shows that invisible disabilities are more stigmatized than visible ones.
- This study examines disparities in hiring related to invisible disabilities. It shows mental health as being more stigmatized than neurological disabilities in hiring.
- This is the first study to look at how DEI statements impact hiring decisions. Past research has only looked at how DEI statements attract candidates with disabilities.
Key Concepts
- Priming – This is a concept in psychology. It is about how exposure to one idea may affect a person’s decision-making later. A company with a DEI statement primes others to think they’re an inclusive workplace.