- Statistics Canada released a report on the representation of persons with disabilities in executive positions in Canada from 2016 to 2019.
- The report found that the proportion of executives with a disability remained unchanged at 0.8%, and that mobility limitations are the most common type of disability among executives.
- The manufacturing industry had the highest representation of executives with a disability, highlighting the need for greater diversity and inclusion efforts in the workplace.
Editor’s Notes: In this report, we have used data from the Statistics Canada website.
The representation of persons with disabilities in executive positions in Canada is highlighted by Statistics Canada has recently released new data. The report shows that only a small proportion of executives in Canada identify as having a disability, and this number has remained stagnant from 2016 to 2019. In this article, we will explore the key findings of the report and their implications for diversity and inclusion in executive leadership.
Few persons with disabilities work in executive positions
The data reveals that only 0.8% of executives in Canada identified as having a disability in 2019. This figure is significantly lower than other equity groups, with women representing 23% of executives, followed by racialized persons at 7.9%, and Indigenous peoples at 1.2%. The disability tax credit (DTC) is an eligibility criterion that determines the number of executives with disabilities, and only Canadians with severe and prolonged impairments are eligible for the DTC. This means that persons with disabilities with less severe or recent impairments, or those without access to a medical professional who can certify their impairment, may not be eligible for the DTC.
The share of executives with a disability remains unchanged from 2016 to 2019
The report indicates that the proportion of executives with disabilities has remained stagnant from 2016 to 2019. The same trend was observed when examining the share of executives with disabilities by role, with the proportion of directors (0.8%) and officers (0.7%) with disabilities remaining unchanged from 2016 to 2019. The majority of executives with disabilities were directors, with over three in five directors (60.9%) having a disability, while slightly fewer than two in five officers (39.1%) had a disability.
Women and men executives with a disability are older than executives without a disability
The data reveals that executives with disabilities tend to be older than those without disabilities. In 2019, women executives with a disability were on average 58 years old, while women executives without a disability were 52 years old. The age gap between male executives with and without disabilities was even more significant. In 2019, men executives with a disability were on average 71 years old, while men executives without a disability were 56 years old. In 2016 and 2019, people aged 65 years and older had the highest proportion of executives with disabilities at 3.8% and 2.9%, respectively. In comparison, 0.3% of executives aged 25 to 64 years reported having a disability in 2016 and 2019.
Mobility limitations are the most common type of disability among executives
According to the results of the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability, mobility limitations were the most prevalent type of disability among executives in 2016 and 2019, rising from 32.0% in 2016 to 35.6% in 2019. Hearing was the least common type of disability among executives in both 2016 (5.4%) and 2019 (7.8%). In 2016, executives with a hearing disability were the oldest (average age of 82 years), whereas in 2019, executives with a mobility disability were the oldest (average age of 77 years).
Manufacturing has the highest representation of executives with a disability
According to the report, the manufacturing industry had the highest proportion of executives with a disability, at 1.2% in 2019. This was followed by the professional, scientific, and technical services industry, where 1.1% of executives had a disability. The lowest representation of executives with a disability was observed in the finance industry, where only 0.4% of executives had a disability in 2019.
In 2016, the manufacturing industry and the “other industries” category had the highest proportion of executives with a disability, both at 0.9%. The management of companies and enterprises industry had the lowest representation of executives with a disability, at 0.5%. The proportion of Executives with Disabilities in Different Industries
Representation of Executives with Disabilities in Different Types of Enterprises
The report also found that executives with disabilities were less likely to be represented in private enterprises compared with other enterprises, which include publicly traded corporations, government business entities, and unclassified enterprises. Private enterprises saw a slight decrease in the proportion of executives with a disability, from 0.8% in 2016 to 0.7% in 2019.
Executives with a disability were more likely to work in small-to-medium corporations, with 0.9% of executives having a disability in both 2016 and 2019. Meanwhile, medium-to-large corporations had a lower representation of executives with disabilities, with 0.6% of executives having a disability in both 2016 and 2019.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Statistics Canada report shows that the representation of persons with disabilities in executive positions in Canada has remained unchanged at 0.8% from 2016 to 2019. The findings underscore the importance of diversity and inclusion efforts in the workplace, especially at the executive level, to create more innovative and high-performing organizations that better reflect the diversity of customers and society as a whole. Accessible and inclusive workplaces that welcome all individuals, including those with disabilities, are crucial for achieving this goal.
