Does the employer’s gender matter when hiring people with disabilities?
[ 1 ] Instytut Zarządzania i Systemów Informacyjnych, Wydział Inżynierii Zarządzania, Politechnika Poznańska | [ P ] pracownik | [ D ] doktorant
2023
rozdział w monografii naukowej / referat
angielski
- Disability
- Economics of the handicapped
- Employment discrimination
- Ethnic minority workers and social value
- Employer’s gender as a entrepreneurship determinant
EN The aim of this article is to answer the question: Does the employer's gender matter when hiring people with disabilities? The authors wanted to find out how the gender of the employer affects the employment of people with disabilities and try to define these factors – which was the objective of this article. The motivation of this study is based on the practical, long–term knowledge of the authors (one of them is a person with disabilities from birth) and knowledge of current economic trends in connection with the state policy aimed at activating people with disabilities. The respondents of the study could express their opinion focusing on the proposed factors determining the favor of employing people with disabilities. The method of this study was a dedicated questionary form. The authors collected data using a close questionnaire. The study employed the individual survey qualitative data addressed to representatives of micro, small, medium, and big enterprises. As methods of carrying out the work, research tools were selected, adapted to the size of the research sample, and considered sensitive in the social sciences. In addition, mathematical analysis tools were used to calculate averages, medians, and variances. The questionnaire was used for the study, with single and multiple–response questions using a 7–point Likert scale, used in social sciences. One of the strengths of the presented methodology is the careful selection of the questions asked in the questionnaire. The computing environment was the Statistica program package. Disability has been identified as an economic, social, global, and actual issue in the 21st century. It is present on all continents and countries of the world, both developed, developing, and poor. Despite numerous interventions, employment of people with disabilities remains at a low level in Poland and in the EU. This was not essentially been changed by the act giving rise to the creation of enterprises in Poland with a special legal status adapted to employ people with disabilities. Literature indicates their disappearance caused by economic as well as social factors. One of the priorities of the European Union is to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for over 99% of all enterprises, being the largest employer in the EU economy, thus significantly contributing to its development. It has been noted that they face difficulties in accessing capital, external sources of financing, as well as modern technologies or innovations, especially in the early stage of development. The EU law provides for numerous preferences for SMEs, which have much wider access to support from public funds than big one. The results of the survey indicate that the gender of the employer matters when hiring people with disabilities. The analysis leads to several conclusions. Firstly, the female owners of small and micro enterprises are more likely to hire people with disabilities. Secondly, the opposite trend was noted in medium and large enterprises managed by male owners. The economic value can be classified as an entrepreneurial factor, indicating the gender of the employer: female or male. Social value, on the other hand, is the greater gender sensitivity of the employer to another person – an employee with a disability. These results indicate that this survey has both economic and social value. The aim of the article was to answer the question: Does the gender of the employer matter when employing people with disabilities? The authors collected data using a questionnaire. The gender of the employer matters when hiring people with disabilities has been confirmed. The female gender owners of small and micro enterprises are more likely to hire people with disabilities. This is evidenced by the fact that, according to the study, it was in these types of enterprises that the statistic rate (RPwD) ≥ 6.00% of employment of people with disabilities was most often achieved, expressed as FTEs. The opposite trend was noted in large and medium enterprises managed by the male gender. Both enterprises' gender owners benefited from 100% of government subsidies resulting from the employment of people with disabilities, but the female gender owners of small more often benefit from government subsidies for employees with disabilities. Suggestions for future research are: a. Extension the research group of study, b. Comparison of various SEMs enterprises’ industry segments on the employment of persons with disabilities, c. Extending the research to other economic areas in Poland and the EU d. Application of this study in other countries and compare the results. Both general government, local and local institutions supporting the activation of employment and people with disabilities as well as commercial institutions should be oriented towards the economic aspects of quantitative modelling of jobs on SEW and CLM. This study should contribute to understanding the condition of the labour market, including information on the preferences of a group of people who are still not integrated part of the community – PwD.
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