RAD survey highlights employment challenges for deaf people

Posted on April 28, 2021 by



New research by the Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD) has highlighted the challenges faced by deaf people when securing and progressing in work.

The survey, which polled the experiences of deaf people in relation to employment and career progression, was carried out at the end of 2020.

Amongst the issues raised by respondents were a lack of deaf awareness amongst employers, communication issues and barriers to voluntary work.

When asked about careers advice, only a quarter of respondents said they had received this in sign language, whilst of those who received careers advice at school less than half (41%) said the careers advisor thought they could do the job they wanted.

When it came to career progression, the majority (60%) of respondents said they had not been given progression opportunities during their career, with several citing a lack of deaf role models within work as a key barrier.

Significant issues were also raised in relation to workplace accessibility and inclusion, with nearly two-thirds (63%) reporting they had not been given equal opportunities in the workplace and just over half (53%) did not feel supported at work.

Added to this, 83% of respondents had been excluded from conversations with colleagues; two-thirds (69%) reported feeling lonely at work, whilst over half (59%) had been left out of social events.

Shockingly, a third (34%) had experienced bullying or acts of unkindness at work because they were deaf.

More positively, nearly half (48%) said their colleagues had wanted to sign or to learn to sign with them. However, only 2 in 10 (21%) said their employer had arranged deaf awareness training for all staff.

More info here on the RAD website: https://www.royaldeaf.org.uk/rad-research-reveals-significant-barriers-to-employment-and-career-progression-opportunities-for-deaf-people/

To read the report, click here: https://www.royaldeaf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/DeafAdvance-Report.pdf


Enjoying our eggs? Support The Limping Chicken:



The Limping Chicken is the world's most popular Deaf blog, and is edited by Deaf  journalist,  screenwriter and director Charlie Swinbourne.

Our posts represent the opinions of blog authors, they do not represent the site's views or those of the site's editor. Posting a blog does not imply agreement with a blog's content. Read our disclaimer here and read our privacy policy here.

Find out how to write for us by clicking here, and how to follow us by clicking here.

The site exists thanks to our supporters. Check them out below:

Posted in: deaf news