People with Disabilities and the Saudi Business Market: A Missing Link Towards Sustainable Growth

A lot has been published on the challenges faced by people with disabilities (PWDs) as well as on the important steps to include PWDs, but this qualitative study digs deeper into understanding the cost of this exclusion. Although traditional career development theories consider this process to be both linear and logical, available evidence shows that career development and employment are often incredibly complex processes for PWDs. Any decision on employment options requires that one consider additional factors such as; opportunities for training, socioeconomic and socioreligious support, as well as obstacles in the workplace. As a result, career decisions made by PWDs are constrained by a wide range of factors, while the decision-making process is often unpredictable, multifaceted, and discontinuous. This is despite evidence showing that employment not only greatly contributes to personal satisfaction and self-esteem among PWDs, but it also helps the economy grow. In Saudi Arabia, data shows that unemployment rates are more than 48% among PWD men, but the disparity in career opportunities crosses 75% when gender is a factor, with statistics showing that female PWDs have fewer opportunities compared to their male counterparts, which means a large part of society faces obstacles in contributing to the economic growth of the kingdom. Due to the lack of awareness and government support in practically implementing the existing labour laws, most companies in Saudi Arabia consider the employment of PWDs to be a corporate liability as opposed to a mandatory and legal requirement and socioreligious responsibility.