Inclusive corporate culture and employment of persons with disabilities: analysis of CSR strategies of multinational enterprises in Norway and the UK

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Inclusive corporate culture and employment of
persons with disabilities analysis of CSR
strategies of multinational enterprises in Norway
and the UK

• Yuliya Kuznetsova
• PhD student/ Marie Curie DREAM Research Fellow
• Disability Rights Expanding Accessible Markets
  (DREAM) Project
• NOVA Norwegian Social Research Institute
• yuliya.kuznetsova_at_nova.no / www.nova.no

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How do large companies comply with new social
responsibility norms towards employing PwDs and
how do they incorporate these CSR strategies into
corporate culture?

• Paper objective
• Conduct overview how MNEs embed their CSR
  strategies into inclusive corporate culture to
  address persons with disabilities (PwD) among
  their workforce and in communities where they
  operate

• Research methodology
• Meetings with employers organizations in Norway
  and the UK
• Selection of the MNEs represented both in Norway
  and the UK actively implementing social
  responsibility and inclusive corporate policies
  towards persons with disabilities
• Analysis of information presented on these
  companies websites and in CSR reports

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Traditionally, CSR has been defined as the
corporations responsibility to comply with the
laws and responsibilities to its shareholders
CSR
Interconnectedness and interdependence of
business and society
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• Problems/Background
• Medical model and segregated forms of
  employment of PwD
• Discrimination and negative attitudes and
  prejudices
• Low employment rates of PwDs in the mainstream
  labour market
• Changes from redistributive to regulatory
  anti-discrimination policies

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Factors influencing the company CSR to address
and promote inclusion of PwDs into the workforce
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Embedding CSR into company corporate culture
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• Companies selection
• Employers organizations
• Qualitative content analysis of the CSR annual
  reports and information represented on the
  selected companies website
• organization norms, values, beliefs
• 2) HR policies, such as hiring, selection,
  accommodation and retention
• 3) working environment in relation to providing
  support, accessibility, flexible work
  arrangements, and positive attitude.

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Conclusion

1. Mainly all the selected MNEs address disability
   in organizational norms and values as presented
   in their CSR strategies
2. Incorporating disability in the recruitment
   process seems to be a challenge
3. Inclusive working environment high level of
   integration, support, involvement and development
   for employees with disabilities and high
   sensitive to the needs of such employees

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Including disability into CSR strategies and
embedding into corporate culture

• The common features for those MNEs that have the
  highest rate as including disability in their CSR
  strategies
• embracing disability as a part of their overall
  organizations norms and involving senior
  leadership and management
• 2) articulating clearly disability issue in
  recruitment, workplace accommodation as well as
  caring about advancement opportunities of such
  employees and retention of those who becomes
  disabled at the workplace
• 3) providing inclusive, accessible and supportive
  work environment for persons with disabilities
  through equal treatment, flexibility,
  personalized management style, sensitivity to the
  employees needs, focus on workers performance
  and abilities, employees awareness trainings as
  well as addressing disabled customers.

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Thank you!