Employers and Disabled People in the Moscow Labour Market: Questions of Effective Interaction

Abstract

   The article analyses the situation with the employment of disabled people in the Moscow labour market — one of the most capacious and developed in the country. It is based on the results of a media content analysis and a mass survey of disabled people. It also included a series of expert interviews with employers, representatives of disabled societies, educational, rehabilitation, and recruiting organizations. The author has shown that, despite the apparent interest in finding a job and applying to the city employment service, it is still not easy for people with disabilities to find work. The author finds that more than 40 per cent of people with disabilities have been looking for a job for more than a year, and every fifth for more than three years. Existing vacancies do not suit them due to low salaries, mismatch of speciality, remoteness from home. The reluctance of employers to hire people with disabilities to work, which could fit them; they are associated with negative stereotypes regarding workers with disabilities. As a result, employers implement several practices that allow them to evade the obligation to fill quota jobs, and people with disabilities are either left without additional income or forced to work in the “shadow”. The article provides several recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of the interaction of people with disabilities, employers, employment services, etc.