abstract: 'Effective and full integration of people with disability into society is

  deeply related to their integration into the labour market. The United

  Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted in

  2006 triggered a change in the conception of disability towards a social

  approach, especially in terms of their human rights and their

  integration in society. One of the key elements of this integration is

  the participation of persons with disabilities in the different spheres

  of society with equal opportunities. In particular, their integration in

  the labour market is a mayor challenge not only from the personal

  development perspective, but also in terms of their autonomy and

  independence.

  Irrespective of the debate on the advantages and disadvantages of the

  different strategies aimed at integrating persons with disability into

  the labour market, further research is necessary on the factors that

  encourage that integration and highlight entry into an ordinary labour

  market, which should be the ultimate objective of integration policies

  for persons with a disability.

  The values shared by Social Economy enterprises generate a

  differentiated behaviour in relation to their staff composition, the

  work conditions, their productive specialisation and their geographical

  location. This differentiated behaviour constitutes, at the same time,

  an important contribution to social and territorial cohesion. In

  particular, the contribution to social cohesion comprises the occupation

  of groups with difficulties of access to employment, employment quality,

  improvement in equal opportunities and the offer of social services.

  The goal of this work is twofold. Firstly, to analyze the contribution

  of Social Economy to social cohesion in terms of the employment of

  people with disabilities and in particular the compliance with the quota

  requirement. Secondly, to detect the enablers and barriers to work in

  the design of labour policies for higher and better integration in

  workplaces. This paper contributes to the literature by analyzing the

  key aspects related to the perceptions, behaviour and culture of Social

  Economy entities in relation to the integration of workers with

  disabilities in their staffs, adding useful and relevant information for

  the design and implementation of active labour policies.

  In order to achieve these objectives, an ad-hoc survey has been designed

  to analyze the compliance of quota legislation for people with

  disabilities and conducted among Medium and Large Social Economy

  entities (50 employees or more) in Spain. Quota legislation in Spain

  establishes an obligation for companies with more than a certain number

  of employees (50 or more) to employ a minimum percentage of people with

  disabilities (2\%). The technical characteristics of the survey are as

  follows:

  i. The Universe of the survey is composed of all Social Economy entities

  (except Special Employment Centres), located in Spain, from all economic

  sectors with 50 or more employees. Universe size (according to the

  National Statistics Institute of Spain and Social Economy statistics) is

  composed by, approximately, 3.000 entities.

  ii. Sampling used in this research is proportional, stratified by

  economic sector, region and company size. Selection of interviewee units

  is random. Sampling size is composed of 329 units, distributed to assure

  representativeness by geographical region, sector and business size.

  Sampling error is +/- 5\%. (Confidence level 95.5\% and probability

  p=q=0.5 -2 sigma).

  iii. Content of the survey refers to several topics such as:

  identification data, business size, economic sector, employment size,

  annual turnover; data about presence and job position of workers with

  disabilities and information about integration process: how diversity,

  especially related to people with disabilities, is incorporated into the

  selection, hiring and promotion policies of the company.

  Main results of the analyses show that the majority of Social Economy

  entities are in compliance with the quota requirement (84.1\%). However,

  there are some remarkable differences attending companies''

  characteristics. Thus, the percentage of Social Economy entities

  complying with the quota requirement is higher among large companies,

  companies in social services and dependency sectors and, by geographical

  area, among companies located in Andalusia or Catalonia. On the other

  hand, medium-sized companies, industrial ones and Social Economy

  entities located in Navarra or Basque Country show lower percentages of

  compliance with the quota requirement.

  This survey offers as well some qualitative information, divided into

  two different sections. Firstly, the analysis is focused on some aspects

  related to the perceptions, behaviour and culture of Social Economy

  entities in relation to the integration of workers with disabilities in

  their staffs. The aim of this section is to identify potential

  differences between companies who are in compliance with the quota

  requirement and those who do not. Some of the main results of this

  section are:

  i. Legal obligation and fiscal benefits are the main reason to hire

  people with disabilities for both, companies that do and do not comply

  with the quota requirement.

  ii. Companies who comply with the quota requirement recruit personnel by

  using employment agencies, acquaintances and relatives and online job

  portals more frequently than those who do not comply with the quota

  requirement.

  iii. Companies or entities who integrate inclusion and diversity

  (gender, cultural, racial, socio-economic, etc.) in their programmes,

  policies and regulations are those with a higher percentage of people

  with disabilities in their staff.

  iv. Previous experiences related to the presence of workers with

  disabilities seem to be the main and more important boost for Social

  Economy entities and companies.

  v. The appointment of a colleague as a support-buddy is the most

  important intervention to facilitate the integration of the worker with

  disability in the company

  vi. The majority of Social Economy entities do not find any difficulty

  related to the integration process. However, companies in compliance

  with the quota find more obstacles than those who do not. Among those

  who have faced any obstacle, main barriers are related to the adaptation

  to the job; emotional barriers and physical space/accommodations

  obstacles.

  Secondly, the analysis focuses on the main reasons and obstacles found

  by those companies and entities that do not have any employees with

  disabilities in their staff, aiming to get to know their reasons to not

  hire this collective. The main two reasons why these companies declare

  that they do not have any person with disability in their staff are the

  lack of candidates with disabilities and the lack of matching between

  the candidates and job positions available.

  Thus, results from this research highlight some key aspects that are

  important to bear in mind. Firstly, values shared by Social Economy

  entities do generate a differentiated behavior in relation to their

  staff composition that contributes to the social cohesion. Secondly, the

  implementation of instruments and active policies have a positive impact

  over the integration of persons with disabilities in the ordinary labour

  market; quota policies and fiscal incentives are named as the main

  facilitators. In this sense, compliance with quota legislation is not a

  dichotomous decision for Social Economy entities but a gradual and

  continuous process that starts when hiring the first worker with

  disability in their staffs. Thus, previous experiences related to the

  presence of workers with disabilities seem to be the main boost for

  Social Economy entities and companies. In third term, an inclusive

  business culture that appreciates and accepts diversity (not only

  related to disabilities) displays characteristics of general awareness

  and inclusion of workers with disabilities in Social Economy entities.

  The inclusion of specific measures related to disability in the

  diversity policies is a challenge that firms, including Social Economy

  ones, still has to confront.

  Finally, the study and dissemination of best practices among employers

  is also important to surpass stereotypes and prejudices, contributing to

  the integration of people with disabilities into the ordinary labour

  market. As we have seen through this study, Social Economy companies and

  entities that have hired people with disabilities would recommend it to

  other ones. And this does not only have a positive effect in terms of

  equity and ethical reasons, but it can also have a great impact on the

  image connected to the Corporate Social Responsibility of the Social

  Economy, also in terms of benefits related to more diverse workplaces.

  Further research is needed in terms of the design of policies to foster

  deeper integration of persons with disabilities into ordinary labour

  market. As observed in the results, the matching process between

  candidates and job positions shows some weaknesses and the existence of

  workers with disabilities is one of the main facilitator to increase the

  number of these workers in firms. Besides design and implementation of

  active policies towards the integration of workers with disabilities,

  especial attention must be given to the business culture regarding

  disability. The study of enablers and obstacles in all kind of firms

  might show different results from the ones obtained in this paper as it

  would include small firms, which have no quota requirements, and

  entities outside Social Economy, in which social cohesion might not be

  among their principles.'
affiliation: 'Sanchez, RS (Corresponding Author), Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Fac Ciencias
  Jurid \& Sociales, Madrid, Spain.

  Santero Sanchez, Rosa; Castro Nunez, Belev, Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Fac Ciencias Jurid
  \& Sociales, Madrid, Spain.

  Martinez Martin, Ma Isabel; Guillo Rodriguez, Nuria, Abay Analistas Econ, Madrid,
  Spain.'
author: Santero Sanchez, Rosa and Castro Nunez, Belev and Martinez Martin, Ma Isabel
  and Guillo Rodriguez, Nuria
author-email: 'rosa.santero@urjc.es

  belen.castro@urjc.es

  mmartinez@abayanalistas.net

  nguillo@abayanalistas.net'
author_list:
- family: Santero Sanchez
  given: Rosa
- family: Castro Nunez
  given: Belev
- family: Martinez Martin
  given: Ma Isabel
- family: Guillo Rodriguez
  given: Nuria
da: '2023-09-28'
eissn: 1989-6816
files: []
issn: 0213-8093
journal: CIRIEC-ESPANA REVISTA DE ECONOMIA PUBLICA SOCIAL Y COOPERATIVA
keywords: Employment; Social Economy; disability management; quotas
keywords-plus: PEOPLE
language: Spanish
month: DEC
number-of-cited-references: '27'
orcid-numbers: 'Castro Nunez, Rosa Belen/0000-0002-9098-0748

  Santero, Rosa/0000-0002-1071-4280'
pages: 29-59
papis_id: 3487d3c4fd3b03dddcbe45459907cad7
ref: Santerosanchez2016socialeconomy
researcherid-numbers: 'castro, rosa/ABE-7063-2022

  '
times-cited: '0'
title: Social Economy and disability. Enablers and obstacles in the integration of
  workers with disabilities in the Social Economy entities
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000399878000002
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '35'
volume: '88'
web-of-science-categories: Economics
year: '2016'