Inclusion at work: ILO backs UN Caribbean HireAbility campaign for disability-inclusive workplaces

Bridgetown, Barbados (ILO News) - What began as an idea from a young Caribbean disability advocate has become a regional call to action for more inclusive workplaces.

The HireAbility Campaign launched on 27 August under the theme “Break Barriers. Embrace Inclusion. Champion Rights.” First envisioned by Zinzee Noel - youth advocate and Grenada’s representative on the UN Youth Advisory Group (YAG)- as an initiative focused on inclusive hiring, HireAbility has evolved, with the support of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, into a full-fledged regional campaign. It brings together United Nations Country Teams, governments, employers, organizations of persons with disabilities, youths and other development partners, to promote greater access to employment for persons with disabilities across the entire English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean region.

“HireAbility is a campaign that challenges us to look beyond disability and see ability, potential, experience, and contribution. Across the Caribbean, persons with disabilities are studying, building businesses, creating art, leading organizations, advocating for changes, raising families, and contributing to their communities every day. Yet too often, barriers in our workplaces prevent those talents from being recognized and those contributions from being fully realized, and that is why this conversation matters.” Zinzee Noel- Youth Advocate, UN Youth Advisory Group

For the ILO, the campaign provides a welcome opportunity to connect a commitment to inclusion with the realities of the world of work. “Access to decent work is not charity. It is about rights, dignity, equality and economic participation as enshrined in international legal frameworks. Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities establishes the right to work on an equal basis with others.” said Thomas Kring, Deputy Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, in his feature address.

ILO evidence points to persistent inequalities. Globally, labour-force participation among persons with disabilities is around 30 per cent lower than among persons without disabilities, while young persons with disabilities are twice as likely to be outside employment, education or training. An ILO study published in 2024 also found an average hourly wage gap of 12 per cent among employees with disabilities across the countries covered by its wage analysis.

“These global findings are a reminder that talent alone does not remove barriers. Employers, institutions and policy-makers all have a role in ensuring that recruitment, skills development and workplace systems are designed to include,” Kring said.

The ILO's contribution to the campaign is also grounded in its broader mandate to advance equality at work. Convention No. 111 identifies the elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation as a fundamental principle and right at work, while Convention No. 159 promotes equality of opportunity and treatment for persons with disabilities in vocational rehabilitation and employment.

A key feature of the launch was the introduction of the Disability Inclusive Employer Pledge, through which participating businesses and employers are publicly committing to more equitable recruitment and workplace practices. Carenage Bay Holding Ltd in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Runman Belize Corporation and the Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited, St. George’s, Grenada have signed the pledge.

The launch was immediately followed by a disability-inclusion sensitisation session featuring technical contributions from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), reflecting their respective areas of expertise.

The HireAbility Campaign will continue through to 3 December- International Day of Persons with Disabilities, offering further opportunities for employers across the region to turn commitments into action.