Originally published here.

Diversity is a current buzzword in politics, but in the EU, people with disabilities are not achieving the gains made by women and ethnic minorities. This research examined barriers and facilitating factors through a literature review and interviews with politicians and political activists in five European countries. Six categories of barriers and facilitating factors were found: networks, recruitment and mentoring, resources (money, time and energy), the “hierarchy of impairments,” accessibility of political spaces and activities, and laws and policies. Key recommendations include removing access barriers to political participation, from voting to holding office, including physical and procedural barriers in political spaces; ensuring that equalities legislation covers politicians; eliminating barriers imposed by benefits systems; promoting direct support for political activists, candidates and office-holders with disabilities, including access to necessary services and supports; encouraging parties to recruit and mentor disabled people with leadership potential; and considering quotas and job-sharing.

Points of interest

-          Not many disabled people are active in politics. In the EU, about 15% of people have an impairment, but only around 1% of politicians do.

-          Inclusion at school and in social groups makes it easier to get into political jobs or to try to get elected.

-          Some disabled political activists, volunteers, candidates and office-holders don’t get the support they need.

-          Political parties can help by finding disabled people, supporting them, and helping them get involved in politics.

Inclusion in education, work, societal groups and public spaces clearly impacts on access to political activity, and is dependent on policy and legal frameworks. Crucially, inclusion in education and work provide the foundation for inclusion in political life: it is from this basis that leadership emerges. Universities offering political science, governance or similar programmes should actively seek qualified disabled applicants, and ensure they have the right support. (Higher) education institutions should also attempt to identify and nurture emerging disabled leaders in all subjects, as these individuals could be the policymakers or ministers of the future in their areas of specialism.

Ensuring that personal assistance and other support is available and funded for disabled candidates, appointees and office holders is essential to level the playing field. Legal and policy barriers, including those based in disability benefits systems, must be addressed.

Political parties can act to welcome and support disabled people as political actors at the entry level—as voters, in debates, as members, and as campaign workers and volunteers. They should also develop targeted strategies for recruiting and developing potential disabled candidates or appointees. Parties could be helped by internal or independent organizations, such as DPOs. Political parties could use quotas to encourage selection of disabled candidates or appointed officials. Practice change may be needed in areas such as job-sharing, meeting and communicating. Universal Design principles can provide guidance and inspiration (Hamraie 2017). Strategies can best be developed with input from disabled people themselves.

Mentoring schemes aimed at recruiting and developing potential disabled candidates and political appointees could be launched by states, political parties, societal organisations or partnerships of these entities. In the EU context, a European scheme to develop political leadership by disabled people in all member states could expand impact. Mentoring should not be restricted to young people—disabled people who have gained experience in governance of companies, NGOs or DPOs are obvious choices for public service in appointed roles or political candidacy.

Finally, robust and trustworthy data needs to be collected at all levels of political life: local, provincial, national and European. Without firm numbers, it is impossible to gauge progress towards greater inclusion of disabled people. Improved data collection throughout the EU has also been called for by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which stated: “At the national level, comprehensive, sex- and impairment-disaggregated data are necessary to direct immediate action, as well as to monitor, and correct where needed, interventions and progress achieved over time” (OSCE/ODIHR 2017).

You can read the complete article here.