Beyond Quotas: Building Workplaces That Truly Include People with Disabilities
Welcome back to Curious Constructs, where I seek to understand and challenge the barriers that prevent us from bringing our full, authentic selves forward — whether those barriers are personal or systemic.
Rethink This: Workplace Quotas
Imagine this: A Minister of Labor proudly describes a new law that “helps” people with disabilities find employment — a quota requiring companies to ensure that two percent of their workforce are people with disabilities, or pay a fine.
In his view, this is fantastic progress. But when you talk to people with disabilities, the story changes: we’re put on payroll, yet told not to come in to work.
Quotas can create a perverse incentive, where compliance becomes the goal — rather than recognizing the value people with disabilities bring to the workplace.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a time meant to recognize the impact and influence of persons with disabilities in the American workforce. For me, it’s not about lauding progress — it’s about taking a harder look at where gaps remain, and reflecting on what more can be done so people with disabilities can fully contribute.
Too often, NDEAM becomes a month for companies to congratulate themselves on “inclusive” hiring. But real progress requires intentional effort to dismantle the systemic barriers that keep us at the margins.
Quotas may be one of the most visible disability employment policies worldwide, but they raise a deeper question: are we content to count numbers, or are we ready to truly build an inclusive workplace that benefits from the contributions of everyone?
The Limits of Quotas
At first glance, quotas — which require employers to hire a minimum number of people with disabilities — might seem like an opportunity. But in practice, they often fail to address the systemic barriers that keep us from thriving in the workplace. Quotas can put disability “on the table,” but without deeper change, they risk doing more harm than good.
There are over 100 countries that have quota laws in place, but their effectiveness remains mixed.
In Germany, employers with more than 20 employees must ensure five percent of their employees are persons with disabilities. Yet, about a quarter of employers have opted to pay a noncompliance fine, rather than employ persons with disabilities.
Japan has a long-standing quota system in place, but recent reports revealed that several ministries have been inflating their numbers of disabled employees for decades.
That isn’t inclusion. It denies people the growth, learning, and connection that come with real employment. It also robs companies of the unique value we bring.
What Real Inclusion Requires
Quotas are, at best, a band-aid solution — a technical fix to an adaptive problem. What we need are policies that dismantle barriers from the ground up: equitable education, opportunities for professional advancement, inclusive infrastructure, and technology designed with accessibility in mind. AI, for example, has great potential to open doors in the workplace — but if it’s built on biased data or inaccessible platforms, it only entrenches exclusion.
And once we’re through the door, the question is: are we given the accommodations we actually ask for? Too often, companies default to “basic” or “general” accommodations that don’t serve individual needs. Or, they meet the minimum requirements by law, but don’t actually provide what every employee needs to thrive.
As people with disabilities, we’re used to fighting for accessibility and accommodations — but that should not be the norm. You would not accept an employment offer from somewhere that didn’t have lights or a bathroom — these, too, are your accommodations. Why are some deemed more essential than others?
Another moment that stands out from my time as U.S. Special Advisor was a roundtable discussion with American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) leaders. One told me: “We don’t discriminate. People with disabilities are welcome to apply.”
I asked him to take a step back:
Are you recruiting in places where people with disabilities actually look for jobs?
Is your application process and hiring technology accessible and unbiased?
And if someone is hired, can they get to work, navigate the workplace, and access the tools, communications, and accommodations they need to succeed?
Inclusion isn’t just about opening job postings — it’s about breaking down the obstacles that keep us from ever reaching them.
In that same gathering, just the day before, we had been in discussion with a major American manufacturer. When I asked what people with disabilities bring to their jobs, he said: “Hiring people with disabilities shows others that if they can do it, anyone can.” He was using his employees with disabilities to shame his non-disabled employees into working harder — a stark reminder of how far we are from truly valuing inclusive hiring.
This is adaptive work. It’s multilayered. It’s about changing how companies see the value of persons with disabilities, breaking down structural barriers, and ensuring that technology — AI included — enables us rather than excludes us. It’s about asking why so many upskilling programs exist, yet so few of them include us.
I’ve also seen what intentionality looks like. The U.S. Embassy’s Empowers Mentorship Program recruits, mentors, and places persons with disabilities in internships that create real pathways to employment. It works because it invests in people, not just in numbers.
While Germany’s quota system is not perfect, they do pair them with vocational training and integration programs. When quotas work in tandem with skills programs and mentorship, they have the potential to create real opportunities.
Beyond Counting Numbers
To be honest, I think that quotas without systemic change are a cop-out. They let governments and companies check a box without transforming their systems. Real inclusion requires intention, investment, and a recognition that persons with disabilities are not just applicants to be counted, but talent to be valued.
Companies cannot only think about compliance — they need to genuinely consider: How do we work with you? How do we dismantle the barriers that stand in your way so you can truly thrive? And how can we invest in you to grow into leadership roles?
If we truly want workplaces to reflect the full talent pool, policymakers must pair quotas with enforceable accessibility standards. Companies must invest in the futures of their employees with disabilities. And tech leaders must ensure that innovation doesn’t leave us behind.
Because at the end of the day, this isn’t just about “giving people with disabilities a chance.” It’s about unlocking the talent, perspective, and innovation that no workforce can afford to miss.
Further Reading, Deeper Thinking: Moving Beyond Quotas
Here are some resources that highlight the persistent barriers people with disabilities face in the workforce. Moving beyond quotas requires policies, education, and accessible tools that allow persons with disabilities to thrive and grow professionally.
This report from the Center for American Progress outlines practical solutions to remove barriers to employment for workers with disabilities. Read more here.
A study from the Utrecht School of Governance explores why employers often fail to hire people with disabilities, examining the factors and influences that shape their decisions. Learn more here.
This article from CNBC discusses how digital hiring processes and inaccessible application platforms often exclude talented applicants with disabilities. Read more here.
Fashion with Fida: Appearing ‘Youthful’
Welcome back to Fashion with Fida, where I share style tips from my mom, Fida, along with reflections on accessible, modest fashion that’s expressive and fully you.
As U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, I attended many summits, forums, high-level dialogues, and conferences. But one I will always remember is the ASEAN High-Level Forum on Disability Inclusive Development and Partnership, held during Indonesia’s Chair by the Minister of Social Affairs of Indonesia. This forum and the high-level dialogue were the first of their kind, and the Minister wanted to gift all the delegation heads a special traditional Indonesian garment — mine was a bright pink and green.
The night before, it was laid out on each of our beds, and my colleague Hanah came into my room to see it. It was beautifully made, but as Hanah described it, I became hesitant to wear it. Not because I disliked pink or green — I actually love both — but because the bold color combination wasn’t making sense to me. I couldn’t imagine how that would look and when I put it on, it made me look young. And I already looked young — I was the youngest delegation head there.
When I started my job as a diplomat, I had just turned 32. That’s half the age of my predecessor, Judy Heumann, when she first took on the role. Constantly in my work, I would hear, “Wow, you look so young!” from colleagues.
I found myself constantly balancing my personal style with professional perception, trying to at least not appear younger than my age. I gravitated toward navy and black, while pink usually stays in my casual wardrobe. That’s a habit my mom instilled in me early on: be intentional about what colors communicate.
But in this moment, my choice wasn’t just about me. Wearing that pink-and-green garment mattered less for how it made me look, and more for what it communicated to my Indonesian hosts — respect, openness, and appreciation for their culture.
Fashion, after all, isn’t only about what we love to wear. It’s about how we want to present ourselves before any words are even spoken — and sometimes, honoring others takes precedence over our own preferences. That’s a lesson my mom, and my work, continue to teach me.
Until next week — let’s be curious about ourselves, each other and the narratives that shape us.
Warmly,
Sara
Sara Minkara is a world-renowned speaker and visionary who challenges traditional perspectives on leadership, disability, and human potential. As the former U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, she transformed how nations and international organizations approach diplomacy and leadership in disability-related issues. Her unique identity as a blind Muslim woman and Arab-American entrepreneur informs her experiences offering a fresh and powerful perspective on authenticity and leadership.