NCD to host "virtual job fair" as part of online release of digital inclusion report

The National Council on Disability wants to know about employment opportunities where YOU work!

Sept. 20, 2011

On October 4, in observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month and in connection with the online release of NCD’s newest report, “The Power of Digital Inclusion: Technology’s Impact on Employment and Opportunities for People with Disabilities” the National Council on Disability (NCD) will host its first-ever, virtual “job fair.” On that day, we’ll be promoting employment opportunities within the Federal Government, non-profit organizations, and private sector via Twitter, Facebook, and the NCD listserv.

Between now and October 3, please send your employment opportunities to LCarterLong@ncd.gov with the subject line “Job Opportunity” and using the following simple format:

Job Title
Organization / agency / corporation name
Location
Full-time or Part-time
Link to full description
Job area (Education, Advocacy, Public Relations, etc.)

Background
Employment rates for people with disabilities have fallen almost continuously since the 1990s, despite the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) twenty-one years ago. When employed, people with disabilities have been a remarkably reliable labor force historically, but when industries cut back, disabled people are often the first to lose their jobs. When there is growth, they are consistently the last hired. The employment gap between men and women with and without work-related disabilities has increased over the past 20 years, hitting 57.4 percent by 2009. The largest gap on record. Lastly, jobs for people with disabilities tend to be in secondary labor markets with subsistence pay, low skill requirements, and few opportunities for advancement. A higher than average number of positions are part-time jobs.

The way forward
Electronic networks and new digital technologies have transformed how we communicate. The “new economy” thrives on human knowledge and uses ways the ways we share information as its starting point. Connection, interdependence and free exchange of ideas are the foundation of the new economy in general but also bolster the workplace specifically. Virtual worlds are steadily eradicating the barriers that have traditionally blocked equal access. As such, electronic networks arguably level the playing field more for people with disabilities than they do for the non-disabled population. Sadly, connections between those networks among people with disabilities is typically weaker, and the bridges between employer and potential employee therefore less effective.

NCD’s virtual job fair acknowledges that there is much progress yet to be made and seeks to use the innovations available now to build a better future.

To have your employment notice included, email the information listed above to LCarterLong@ncd.gov.

On October 4, positions will be distributed via NCD’s Twitter feed with the hashtag #NCDJobFair at regular intervals throughout the day.  You can track the event live at by following tweets via @NatCounDis on Twitter that day. Notices must — of course — fit Twitter’s 140-character limit, but will be linked directly to your website and mirrored on NCD’s Facebook page. At the conclusion of the virtual job fair, NCD will send out a single email listserv message containing a collection of all the job opportunities posted throughout the day.