Despite recent progress in digital inclusion levels throughout Europe, further efforts are needed to improve the lives of people with disabilities, including the equal right to work. The European Disability Rights Strategy (2021-2030), adopted in March 2021, represented a step in the right direction, but also highlighted urgent disparities from one EU citizen to the next. In the field of employment in particular, the contrast is stark: just over half of people with disabilities in Europe are employed, compared to 75% of European citizens. In Luxembourg, ‘work and employment’ is a key priority of the Luxembourg national plan on the rights of people with disabilities, out of 8 total areas of focus.
Handi-Diag: measuring disability inclusion
Nevertheless, barriers for people with disabilities to access and maintain employment remain. What is more, companies often lack information on the best strategies to evaluate and assess the extent to which their company or organisation is digitally inclusive towards those with different abilities, and therefore fail to tap into a key segment of the talent pool. The Handi-Diag digital tool is the result of a long-standing cooperation in the area of digital inclusion for people with disabilities and can provide solutions to companies looking to boost their digital inclusion level.
To break down stereotypes, raise awareness among employers and facilitate access for this target group to the regular job market, IMS Luxembourg has been working on the inclusion of disability in companies since 2015, in collaboration with companies and in partnership with the Ministry of Family, Integration and the Greater Region, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy, and the European Social Fund. In 2022, Handi-Diag was born with the goal to facilitate labour market inclusion for people with disabilities. Handi-Diag allows employers to evaluate their approaches to disability inclusion within their organisations. Through about 50 questions, the tool assesses 6 fundamental aspects to determine the maturity index of work areas such as:
- Recruitment and Career
- Legal framework
- Accessibility of the working environment
- Employability
- Management
- Performance
The tool is free of charge, available to all employers in Luxembourg, since 21 March 2023. It is available in French and English. It is recommended to repeat the assessment once a year. To access the tool, you need to register and create an account. This can be done in less than 2 minutes, quickly and easily. A person from the organisation fills in the various questions after having worked out the answers collectively with the parties concerned (HR, communication, facilities, etc.). In 2023 and 2024, the project went one step further in measuring and evaluating the impact of the actions implemented by the organisations by surveying employees’ perception of digital inclusion for people with disabilities.
The recommended process
- Download the questionnaire in PDF from the platform.
- Work on the questionnaire with the parties concerned (HR, communication, facilities, etc.).
- Record the answers online to have access to the results and the action proposals.
- Find out the maturity index, the strengths and areas for improvement of the organisation.
- Build the action plan from the suggestions adapted to the organisation’s profile.
Source : European Digital Skills & Jobs Platform
