Of the 4.3 million Australians (20% of the population) who are living with a disability only 54% have permanent employment, with little or no initiatives in place to change this.

Much of this increased unemployment is due to the invisible bias of employers, and incorrect and outdated perceptions around the true capabilities of people with disability.

As a leading disability advocacy group, the Dylan Alcott Foundation wanted to raise awareness of the invisible bias facing people with disability in the workplace and redefine expectations around their capabilities.

We needed to show employers that while people with disability did face challenges every day, their resilience and ability to overcome barriers actually made them some of the best employees they could hire. A fact backed up by statistics that show people with disability are actually more loyal, productive and take less leave than their able-bodied counterparts.

Our solution was to create a film showing that the biggest barrier to employment for people with disability isn’t overcoming the physical barriers to get to the office, but rather the invisible bias of employers.

To date, the film and supporting integrated campaign has received PR on almost every major Australian news channel, gaining over 75 million earned media impressions on a zero dollar spend. Over 200 businesses have reached out to the Dylan Alcott Foundation to express their interest in hiring, helping and assisting people with disability into work. Major businesses supporting the campaign include: ANZ, Nike, TCL and Medibank. Perhaps even more importantly, the campaign has seen over 100 enquiries from government agencies who are now looking to Remove the barrier through legislative change.

Dylan Alcott Foundation - Remove The Barrier

CREDITS

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