Are employers doing a good job of hiring and supporting people with disabilities?

Working with disability.

Cross Country Checkup producer Sheyfali Saujani is partially blind. She uses screen reading software to do her work here at Checkup. It turns text into speech. CBC installed the program after she disclosed her disability. All good...except the days it's not. She wrote an essay for our website describing one of her bad days — the kind of day disabled workers have to endure, even in a supportive work environment.

According to Statistics Canada, about four million Canadians report having a disability, either mental or physical. Some can't work because of their disabilities. For the vast majority, having a productive job is possible.

However, landing that job can be tricky sometimes if you have a disability. Keeping it can be a challenge too.

It wasn't that long ago, people with disabilities knew getting a job meant downplaying your disability. Not asking for special treatment. Getting the job done no matter what. But the law in Canada has changed and society has too. These days, employers are expected to accommodate disability. That might mean providing physical access to the office, or the option to work remotely. Maybe it means technological aides, or co-operation from staff who are aware of the needs of the employee. And workers are supposed to be clear about their needs.

Yet, inequalities persist. Less than half of people with disabilities in Canada are employed. In most provinces, people living with disabilities earn far less than people without disabilities.

Our question: "Are employers doing a good job of hiring and supporting people with disabilities?"