What don’t you know?
As of mid-2025, 5.5 million disabled people were in employment across the UK, yet the disability employment rate sat at about 52.8 %, compared with 82.5 % for non-disabled people. That leaves a gap of nearly 29.7 percentage points, a stark indicator of structural barriers that persist in access, progression, and retention.
29.7 percentage points: The disability employment gap in the UK
This gap represents millions of people locked out of opportunity and dignity.
These figures remind us why days like World Braille Day and International Day of Education matter: they invite us all to pay closer attention to inclusion in everyday life.
At the same time, disabled people continue to face significant challenges within workplaces and society, including lower representation in senior roles, limited access to adjustments, and barriers to flexible working. The statistics are invitations to action.
Nothing about us without us.
We said goodbye to an important voice in disability advocacy in late 2025: Alice Wong, the American disability activist and writer who founded the Disability Visibility Project. Wong’s work centred disabled voices and stories, insisting that lived experience must be part of the conversation, not sidelined. Her legacy challenges us to remember that inclusion is as much about culture and connection as it is about policy.
So, where we are now?
(1) We still need visibility before we get equity.
Gender pay gap reporting is now well established in the UK. Disability pay gap reporting, while widely discussed and expected in future regulation, has not yet become mandatory. Why? Because the data is incomplete.
Building a fuller picture of our organisations brings inequality out of the shadows and into organisational accountability. But a prerequisite to pushing for data completeness is building trust.
People need to trust why data is being collected, how it will be used, and that it won’t be turned against them. Without that trust, disclosure stays low, gaps remain hidden, and inequity persists.
(2) Representation alone is not enough.
A disabled employee can be visible in an organisation, yet remain invisible in decisions about flexibility, progression, or leadership development.
Research and lived experience consistently show that disabled voices are more likely to be questioned, more likely to be dismissed as “too complex”, and more likely to be overlooked when decisions are made under pressure.
Inclusion requires not just presence, but power and influence. That means sponsorship and advocacy, especially from leaders. And it means taking the time to really understand what the absence of care, adjustments, and support looks like in practice for disabled people, in the day-to-day reality of work.
(3) Inclusion is everyday practice, not a project.
Whether it’s adjusting meetings, asking the right questions, or building psychological safety, the small decisions we make daily shape whether people feel truly included or merely tolerated.
Policies and law will change over time, but culture changes through consistent, compassionate practice.
In a year that begins with reflection, remembrance, and renewed attention to one another, compassion feels more important than ever.
