Resources on disability and work

  1. © Wang Yihong / ILO 2022

    I will not let blindness define me

    03 December 2021

    Bi Qiting, known as ‘Small Wolf’, lost her sight aged 14. Overcoming many obstacles, she is now training to become a swimming instructor in Guangzhou, in the south of China.

  2. Ady Barkan and Bradley Whitford: Raise your voice for disability inclusion

    03 December 2021

    On international Day of Persons with Disabilities, lawyer and activist Ady Barkan, and actor and producer, Bradley Whitford show solidarity with the ILO to call on countries to uphold the rights and improve inclusion of persons with disabilities.

  3. We open opportunities for persons with disability in the workplace

    16 November 2021

    ILO Chief Technical Advisor, Pauline Swagi, speaks from Nairobi about the Innovation to Inclusion (i2i) programme, which is developing, testing, and sharing effective ways to engage and retain persons with disabilities in waged employment in the private sector in Kenya. The programme is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) UK and is implemented in Kenya and Bangladesh.

  4. © Vitor Marinho 2022

    ILO reaches ratification target for landmark social security Convention

    08 November 2021

    Paraguay has become the 60th country to ratify the flagship ILO social security Convention, No.102, reaching a target set in 2012 by the ILO’s Governing Body.

  5. Marlee Matlin: "We sign for Human Rights"

    23 September 2021

    The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated already difficult situations for persons with disabilities. On International Day of Sign Languages, actor Marlee Matlin & the ILO say: “We Sign for #HumanRights” and call for an inclusive, rights-based future of work.

  6. Now I know the great feeling of having decent work

    16 April 2021

    Jordanian Omar Abu Noa’aj has struggled to find work for years due to his physical disability. Last year, an ILO employment centre helped him secure his first formal job at a garment factory, giving him a new sense of independence and purpose.

  7. Training programme that “Empowers, Skills, Employs”

    01 April 2021

    Having gained a more detailed understanding of the challenges, ILO PROSPECTS Kenya partnered with Turkana and Garissa county governments, the East Africa Institute of Welding (EAIW) and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) to deliver a dual-learning welding skills programme accessible to refugee and host communities.

  8. Overcoming barriers and stereotypes: Social inclusion in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

    01 April 2021

    In partnership with the East African Institute of Welding (EAIW) and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), a dual learning industrial welding training programme with low barriers to entry and deliberately targeting female youth and persons with disabilities has been developed and is currently being implemented in Turkana and Garissa Counties, Kenya.

  9. © ILO 2022

    Post-COVID digital economy must include persons with disabilities

    11 February 2021

    Changes brought about by the expanding digital economy could help persons with disabilities gain more equal access to the world of work, or they could create greater barriers. A new ILO report proposes actions to ensure that the post-COVID world of work is disability-inclusive.

  10. An inclusive digital economy for people with disabilities

    10 February 2021

    Co-published by Fundación ONCE and the ILO Global Business and Disability Network, the report takes a closer look at the digital transformation of the world of work and how it affects opportunities and challenges for the inclusion of persons with disabilities.