Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Workers with disabilities are paid 12% less per hour than other employees, says the ILO

Published · Updated
Wheelchair symbol.

Diversity, equity and inclusion ... nearly a sixth of the global population lives with a significant disability. Image: Unsplash/Marianne Bos

Joe Myers
Writer, Forum Stories
  • A new working paper from the International Labour Organization shows the extent of the disability wage gap.
  • Globally, those with disabilities are paid 12% less per hour than other workers, with the bulk of this unexplained by socio-economic differences.
  • The World Economic Forum's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lighthouse programme provides learnings and initiatives to help build inclusive labour markets and economies.

People with disabilities are less likely to be part of the labour market and, when they are, they tend to earn less than their non-disabled counterparts, a new working paper from the International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned.

The paper, which includes the addition of new data, finds that those with disabilities who are working are paid 12% less per hour on average, compared to other workers, with 9% of that gap unable to be explained by differences in education, age or type of work.

Have you read?

And the situation is worse in low and lower-middle-income countries. The disability wage gap in these countries hits 26%, almost half of which cannot be explained by socio-economic differences.

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing to close the disability inclusion gap?

The disability wage gap

Nearly 1-in-6 of the global population experiences significant disability, according to 2021 figures. With just 3-in-10 of those with disabilities active in the labour market, their overall labour market participation remains very low.

And, as this new research from the ILO shows, when people with disabilities are in work, they typically earn less than their peers - even when socio-economic differences are accounted for.

Average disability pay gap.
A look at the disability pay gap across economies. Image: ILO

The paper also points to gender disparities. "Among people with disabilities, some subgroups may experience even greater disadvantages when it comes to pay," the authors write. "This appears to be particularly the case for women."

In a subset of the main data where it was possible to break out wages based on sex, the average gender pay gap for workers with disabilities in these selected developed and developing countries is 6% and 5% respectively in favour of men.

Gender pay gap among employees with and without disabilities.
Gender pay gap among employees with and without disabilities. Image: ILO

The World Economic Forum's own Global Gender Gap 2024 report continues to highlight the gender disparities in the global labour market and workforce participation. In the latest edition, it shows regional variances in labour-force participation and also that "top-level positions remain narrowly accessible for women".

Closing the disability wage gap

The ILO's working paper explores measures to improve the labour market participation of individuals with disabilities. These include suggestions to make online recruitment more accessible, adaptation measures to better facilitate work for disabled people and improved support for employers to encourage hiring workers with disabilities.

The Forum's own Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Lighthouse programme exists to share learning and initiatives that are accelerating progress on DEI efforts around the world.

The latest report, from December 2023, identifies 5 common success factors across DEI lighthouse initiatives:

  • nuanced understanding of root causes
  • meaningful definition of success
  • accountable and invested business leaders
  • solutions designed for context
  • rigorous tracking and course correction.
Graphic showing five common success factors across DEI Lighthouse initiatives
These elements can help position an organization’s DEI efforts for success. Image: World Economic Forum

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the report says, these success factors "tend to mark the initiatives that yield the most significant, scalable, quantifiable and sustained impact for underrepresented groups".

Loading...
Share:
Contents
The disability wage gapClosing the disability wage gap

Closing the AI equity gap: Trust and safety for sustainable development

Keyzom Ngodup Massally and Jennifer Louie

December 3, 2024

How new taxi marketplaces are tackling old challenges

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum