Discrimination and Access to Employment for Female Workers with Disabilities

PE 602.067 1

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES

POLICY DEPARTMENT A: ECONOMIC AND SCIENTIFIC POLICY

Study on Discrimination and Access to Employment for Female Workers

with Disabilities

Case Study: POLAND

IP/A/EMPL/2016-20 March 2017

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Policy Department A: Economic and scientific policy

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This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

AUTHORS

Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale (IRS): Manuela Samek LODOVICI, Project Leader Nicola ORLANDO, Operative coordinator

Research Team Daniela LOI, Serena Marianna DRUFUCA, Nicola ORLANDO, Flavia PESCE.

Country experts: Denmark: Bent GREVE - University of Roskilde France: Anne EYDOUX - CNAM Germany: Flavia PESCE - IRS Italy: Flavia PESCE - IRS Poland: Malgorzata GRABAREK and Izabela PRZYBYSZ - ISP Spain: Elvira GONZÁLEZ GAGO and Nuria GUILLÓ RODRÍGUEZ - Abay Analistas UK: Kari P HADJIVASSILIOU and Chiara MANZONI - IES

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR

Dr. Marion SCHMID-DRÜNER

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Laurent HAMERS

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS

Original: EN

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Policy departments provide in-house and external expertise to support EP committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation and exercising democratic scrutiny over EU internal policies. To contact Policy Department A or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: Policy Department A: Economic and Scientific Policy European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: Poldep-Economy-Science@ep.europa.eu Manuscript completed in June 2017 © European Union, 2017 This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/supporting-analyses DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5

1. INTRODUCTION 6

2. THE NATIONAL DEBATE ON THE CONCEPT AND DEFINITION OF ‘MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATION’ IN RELATION TO ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES 7

3. THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF DISABLED WOMEN IN THE COUNTRY 9

3.1 European and Polish data 9

3.2 Education system and labour market 10

3.3 Social conditions 11

3.4 Conclusions 12

4. THE NATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK ON DISABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT IN A GENDER PERSPECTIVE, AND EFFECTIVENESS IN ADDRESSING INTERSECTORAL DISCRIMINATION 13

4.1 Legal framework 13

4.2 Policy framework 14

4.3 The role of the EU Structural Funds 16

5. EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICES 20

6. CURRENT AND FUTURE POLICY CHALLENGES ACCORDING TO NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS 21

6.1 Current and future challenges 21

6.2 Solutions and recommendations proposed 21

7. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 22

7.1 Conclusions 22

7.2 Policy implications 23

ANNEXES 24

ANNEX I - LIST OF DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED 24

ANNEX II - LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS INTERVIEWED 26

ANNEX III – GOOD PRACTICE FICHE 27

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Main study : http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067_EN.pdf Annexes 1 2 3 4: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067(ANN01)_EN.pdf Spain Case Study: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067(ANN02)_EN.pdf Italy Case Study: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067(ANN03)_EN.pdf Poland Case Study: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067(ANN04)_EN.pdf UK Case Study: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067(ANN05)_EN.pdf Germany Case Study: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067(ANN06)_EN.pdf Denmark Case Study: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067(ANN07)_EN.pdf France Case Study: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/602067/IPOL_STU(2017)602067(ANN08)_EN.pdf

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The issue of multiple discrimination, and in particular the multiple discrimination against women with disabilities, is almost non-existent in the Polish public debate except for some circles of academics and feminist organisations. Moreover, in the current political context with gender perspective being considered as a harmful ideology1, this situation is very unlikely to change. However, statistics show clearly that women with disabilities are particularly disadvantaged in the labour market compared to men with disabilities or women without disabilities.

As for the people with disabilities in general, Poland faces great challenges at the moment concerning legal regulations and social perception. For many years the most prevalent definition of people with disabilities focused on the medical and social issues. The socio-medical paradigm of disability is deeply rooted in the social consciousness. It is the foundation for creating the legal framework for any regulations pertaining to people with disabilities. Only the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2012 brought a change in that respect. It must be noted that the implementation of the Convention in Poland is a very slow process. For example, when the Convention was ratified by the country, there was ongoing work on development strategies in various areas, setting directions of change up to the year 2020. However, it covered disability issues in a very limited way, while at the same time completely ignoring gender issues related to disability. As for the EU funds, the operational programme Knowledge Education Development for 2014–2020 dedicates one specific subtask to the monitoring of the Convention implementation. The issue of people with disabilities is also regulated by guidelines referred to in the horizontal principles Guidelines for the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination, including accessibility for people with disabilities and the principle of equal opportunities for men and women within the framework of the EU funds for 2014–2020. According to this, each project supported by EU funds should include references to people with disabilities. In practice, after three years of project’s implementation, the share of beneficiaries with disabilities is very low.

Furthermore, a total lack of good practices in terms of women with disabilities in the labour market is alarming. As experts pointed out, one of the greatest challenges Poland will be facing in the coming years is the change of social awareness. In Polish society, the perception of people with disabilities as dependent, requiring constant help and special treatment, is deeply rooted. As a consequence, they are not considered fully-fledged members of society.

Another key challenge is to increase accessibility for people with disabilities in terms of services and infrastructure. There are numerous barriers that make participation in public life impossible for people with disabilities.

As for women with disabilities, the greatest challenge is to introduce the issue of multiple discrimination into the public debate. Without profiled support, dedicated especially to this concrete social group, their problems and needs will remain unnoticed.

1 Explained in more detail in Section 2: The national debate on the concept and definition of ‘multiple

discrimination’ in relation to access to employment for women with disabilities.

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1. INTRODUCTION This report presents the situation of people with disabilities in the labour market in Poland. The authors’ intention was to include a gender perspective in relation to each aspect of the problem analysed. However, it proved to be impossible in various cases, due to the lack of literature and data available. In the first part, the reasons for the lack of national debate on the multiple discrimination in relation to female workers with disabilities have been explained. Therefore, the study focuses on the comparison of the statistics at the national and European levels. In the following part, the national legal and policy framework on disability and employment has been analysed. Special attention has been paid to the role of the EU Structural Funds in supporting measures addressing people with disabilities. Then, based on the interviews with stakeholders, the reconstruction of their opinions on the biggest challenges Poland is facing in terms of discrimination and access to employment for workers with disabilities has been carried out. The main focus was on female workers with disabilities. In the final part of the report, the key findings and conclusions from the study, together with policy recommendations to improve the situation of female workers with disabilities in Poland, have been presented.

As for the information and data collection, the following strategy has been applied. In the first phase, interviews with the stakeholders and experts in the field of disability have been carried out. As a result, the latest publications and good practices with reference to the topic analysed have been identified. Furthermore, the information has been collected through the following methods: (i) using key words relating to women with disabilities while searching for data and literature; (ii) analysis of legislative and policy measures; (iii) reviewing social policy literature. Such web browsers as Google, Google Scholar, as well as social science literature databases have been used. In the following phases of the analysis, data has been collected through the ‘snowball method’. The bibliography of the publications has been reviewed from the point of view of the latest articles and reports on the situation of women with disabilities.

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2. THE NATIONAL DEBATE ON THE CONCEPT AND DEFINITION OF ‘MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATION’ IN RELATION TO ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES

In 1980 the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted and published the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps that defines disability as a strictly biological concept. It has been assumed that an illness is a source of all challenges, limitations and problems of a person with disabilities. As a consequence, it has been assumed that the medical intervention and rehabilitation is crucial for removal or alleviation of those issues. This concept strongly shaped the debate and the legal regulations pertaining to disabilities. For many years the debate was focused on the topics of medical intervention and rehabilitation that aimed at alleviating the challenges that people with disabilities had to face. Moreover, for a long period of time people with disabilities were merely considered a homogenous group. There was no public debate on such issues as multiple discrimination i.e. different social consequences of disabilities for men and for women, or ageism.

Even after the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified by the Republic of Poland in 2012, the situation has not improved significantly. The debate on how to change the attitude towards people with disabilities is only present among a small group of specialised NGOs (The Polish Disability Forum, The Integration Foundation, The Activation Foundation) and scientific communities centred on the issue of people with disabilities. Those groups are mainly focused on implementation of the Convention in different aspects, such as changing the definition of people with disabilities and alleviating of institutional hurdles.

These groups, however, are disintegrated and represent different interests (mostly related to different types of disabilities). For some groups, the ongoing changes may not be considered favourable. Noticeably, gender issues are hardly debated and what is more, discrimination of women with disabilities is a marginal topic also among the people with disabilities. Those issues are tackled only by a very few NGOs (The Venus de Milo Association, Feminoteka Foundation), that are being marginalised by the government of the Peace and Justice party and their access to funding is drying up. Those NGOs understand the peculiar situation of women with disabilities and the fact that they are being subject to multiple discrimination i.e. the persons or groups of people are subject to discrimination due to more than one reason. These problems, however, are not part of the public debate. One of the key factors that fostered the debate within the few organisations is the comprehensive research project led by professor Barbara Gąciarz ‘The gender dimension of disability’.

Unfortunately, it seems that the current government in Poland is not willing to discuss the topic of disabilities in the context of gender as it is officially recognised by them as unjustified and even harmful, because it stems from ideological premises. It derives from the cultural backlash Poland has been experiencing for the last few years. The ‘anti-gender ideology’ campaign was born in 2011, when the public debate on whether Polish government should sign the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention) took place. At that time, the Polish Episcopal conference noted that the Istanbul Convention was the first official document to offer a definition of ‘gender’ as being socially constructed. As a response, it was presented by the Church’s hierarchy and conservative politicians as an ideological concept designed to ruin the traditional Polish family.2 As Druciarek aptly describes, “‘[g]ender ideology’ became a catchphrase for everything that the Church disliked and feared in modern Western societies: not only general secularisation, but also women’s 2 http://www.niedziela.pl/artykul/78160/nd/%E2%80%9EGender%E2%80%9D--nowa-niebezpieczna

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empowerment, LGBT rights, reproductive rights and even such medical procedures as in vitro fertilisation. Right-wing media used the expression to smear all activities and actions aimed at preventing discrimination and promoting gender equality in Poland.”3

The current media debate over ‘black protest’ and women’s strikes against the radicalisation of anti-abortion law has antagonised discourse over reproductive rights and rights of people with disabilities to a certain degree. It does not help to introduce the issue of multiple discrimination in terms of disability and gender into the public debate.

3 M. Druciarek, Social conservatism and the cultural backlash in Poland, [in:] Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself.

Mapping and responding to the rising culture and politics of fear in the European Union, DEMOS 2017, p. 339/340, https://www.demos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Nothing-to-Fear-but-Fear-Itelf-final.pdf (access 14th June 2017)

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3. THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF DISABLED WOMEN IN THE COUNTRY

3.1 European and Polish data The analysis of the socio-economic conditions of people with disabilities in Poland is based on data gathered at the European level and complemented with statistics from the National Census of 2011. Since the latter appears in the literature the most often, these two data sources have been examined.

According to European data, in Poland among people aged 15–64, people with disabilities constitute less than 12%. This proportion is a little higher among women (12.5 %) than among men (10.8 %) (Table 1a in Annex 24). That is why the feminisation of disability is a concept that appears quite often in the Polish public discourse. Data from the National Census show that 15 % of women experience some form of disability. The difference between these data sources derives from the fact that the latter refers to the whole population of Polish women, regardless their age.

In Poland, the majority of people with disabilities (53 %) belong in the oldest age group (over 60). Disability in old age more often concerns women (59 %) than men (47 %).

Figure 1: People with disabilities by age groups

Source: The National Census 2011

As for gender classification of disability, women (44 %) more often than men (36.5 %) point at motor impairment as a cause of disability. However, men slightly more often than women report suffering from circulation diseases (men 16.5 %, women 12.8 %) and neurological disorders (men 14.8 %, women 1.8 %).

4 With Annex 2 we indicate Annex 2 of the main study.

6,8%

4,1%

11,4%

7,6%

35,2%

29,1%

46,7%

59,3%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Men

Women

0-19

20-39

40-59

60+

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Figure 2: Gender classification of disability

Source: The National Census 2011

3.2 Education system and labour market The educational structure of the population of people with disabilities differs from the one referring to the overall population of Poland. The National Census data show that men with disabilities are, on the whole, better educated than women with disabilities. The share of women continuing their education is 47.3 %, while the proportion for men amounts to 53 %.

It is worth noting that the probability of continuing education by a person with disability is related to the accessibility of schools: it is much higher in the cities than in the rural areas. A slightly different picture emerges from the European data. According to Eurostat, among women who declare having difficulties in basic activities, 26 % leave the education system because of their health condition. For men, this is 28.3 %. These proportions are slightly higher than the average of the EU, although the differences are not significant (Table 6a in Annex 2).

It may be assumed that leaving the education system determines the person’s situation in the labour market. According to European data, 66.4 % of women with difficulties in basic activities are inactive in the labour market. Among men, this is 58.2 %. When we focus at women falling into at least one of the following categories – suffering limitations at work caused by a health condition, and having difficulty in basic activities – we see that around 71 % of them are inactive in the labour market. For men this is 66.4 %. As for the Polish statistics, they do not provide a clear picture since the activity in the labour market is differentiated only by gender and not disability. However, according to the 2011 National Census (in which the status in the labour market was determined merely for 2 065.7 thousand men and 2 458.7 thousand women), men with disabilities are more often active in the labour market (20.4 %) than women with disabilities (13.1 %). Among women with disabilities, whose status in the labour market was determined, 84 % were inactive in the labour market.

Among women with difficulties in basic activities, 17.95 % work part-time, while among men this is 14.51 %. Working part-time is the case for 24.99 % of women, who have limitations at work caused by health condition or have difficulties in basic activities, and for 20.41 % of those who do not declare having these limitations. In comparison with data from another

37%

17%

15%

44%

13%

13%

0% 20% 40% 60%

motor impairment

circulation diseases

neurological disorders

Women

Men

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countries, these proportions are relatively low. It might be due to the high proportion of women with disabilities in Poland that are inactive in the labour market.

According to the 2011 Social Diagnosis, the average net income of people with disabilities (EUR 298) was considerably lower than that of non-disabled people (EUR 400), irrespective of their gender. Men with disabilities earned slightly higher income (EUR 314) than women with disabilities (EUR 248). Therefore, the wage gap is not that significant among people with disabilities, as it is among non-disabled people. In other words, disability has a strong impact on people’s income, in contrast to gender, which – among people with disabilities – has no such influence.

3.3 Social conditions Bearing this in mind, it seems crucial to analyse the sources of income of those people with disabilities who are absent from the labour market. National statistics show that, in majority of cases (95 %) it is a retirement or incapacity pension (28.1 %), dependent’s pension (5.5 %), social pension (3.7 %), unemployment benefit (0.8 %), pre-retirement benefits (0.4%) and supplementary benefits. There are no public data available on the differential impact of benefit policies for men and women.

Figure 3: Income sources of people with disabilities

Source: The National Census 2011

It is worth mentioning that some people receive financial support from more than one source. This situation has consequences for the standard of living. The financial situation of people with disabilities living in Poland is rather difficult: almost 60 % of women and almost 55 % of men declared that they would be unable to face unexpected financial expenses. In comparison, these shares among non-disabled people amount to 46 % among women and just over 44 % among men (Table 27a in Annex 2).

What is more, data show that for many people with disabilities, social transfers constitute the only source of income. Not taking into consideration social transfers, the share of people with disabilities who are at risk of poverty is high. Among women it is 70 % and among men, 66.8 % (for comparison, among non-disabled people this is 39.5 % and 36.6 %). It turns out that these proportions are not much higher than the EU average5 (Table 25a in Annex

5 See Chapter 3 (Section 3.4) of the main study.

95,0%

28,1%

5,5%

3,7%

0,8%

0,4%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

retirement pension

incapacity pension

dependent’s pension

social pension

unemployment benefit

pre-retirement benefits

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2).In this context it seems alarming that, according to data available, people with disabilities in Poland often do not raise their qualifications. Among women with difficulties in basic activities, only 3.9% decide to do so. Among men with difficulties in basic activities the proportion is the same. Percentages for people suffering limitations at work caused by health conditions are 4 % and 4.1 % respectively. These shares are approximately 50% lower than the EU average: with reference to the first category mentioned, they amount to 10.4 % for women and 8.8 % for men, and in the second category described it is 9.8 % for women and 7.8 % for men (Table 9a in Annex 2).

3.4 Conclusions Both Polish and European statistics prove that women with disabilities live in worse socio-economic conditions than men. What is more, the situation of elderly, disabled women who live in a countryside is especially difficult. Unfortunately, in Poland the institutional approach and policy towards people with disabilities do not take into account such variables as gender or age, which when aggregated determine a person’s social position to a great extent. The vast majority of actions, aimed at improving the access to employment for workers with disabilities, are designed as if their target group was homogeneous, with no specific features or needs. As a consequence, those actions are inefficient and consist in mere financial transfers with no real attempt to activate this group in the labour market. On the other hand, studies show that people with disabilities are not very active in the labour market and are rather dependent on that financial support. Furthermore, employers perceive workers with disabilities as people of lower qualifications, bad health condition and poor manual skills. Bearing all the above-mentioned factors in mind, it must be said that policymakers face numerous challenges. However, while designing any solutions, the specific characteristics of a concrete target group must be taken into account. These specific characteristics may refer to gender, age, place of residence, etc. The lack of gender perspective in this respect makes the proposed solutions inadequate for a target group and, as a consequence, inefficient.

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4. THE NATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK ON DISABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT IN A GENDER PERSPECTIVE, AND EFFECTIVENESS IN ADDRESSING INTERSECTORAL DISCRIMINATION

4.1 Legal framework The rights of people with disabilities are guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997. It guarantees the right to non-discrimination stating that nobody can be discriminated against in public, social and economic life for any reason whatsoever. The Constitution also obliges the authorities to provide special healthcare to people with disabilities, as well as to help them secure a livelihood, prepare for work and enable social communication.

In Poland, people with disabilities can be employed on open and sheltered labour markets. Employment of people with disabilities is governed by the Disabled Professional and Social Rehabilitation and Employment Act partly by supported employment provisions, and by the provisions of the Act on Employment Promotion and labour market institutions. Matters not regulated by specific provisions are regulated by the provisions of the Labour Code. Such legislative solution is applied to separate occupational groups (e.g. teachers, judges, public administration employees), yet in this case excluding employees from the Labour Code regulations due to their disability increases their segregation. The knowledge of specific provisions among employers operating in the open labour market is very low in comparison to their knowledge of the Labour Code content. The main body responsible for implementation of actions and tasks related to employment and professional and social rehabilitation of people with disabilities is the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PFRON). Its financial resources come from obligatory payments made by employers who hire at least 25 persons (calculated on a full-time basis) and fail to meet the 6 % employment rate of people with disabilities. These employers can have their ‘PRFON payments’ decreased if they purchase a service (or services) from a person employing people with disabilities. However, very complex procedures lead to a situation where most employers prefer to contribute to the PRFON fund rather than employ the statutory number of people with disabilities. Other entities responsible for implementation of relevant tasks and objectives are self-government units, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, including the Government Plenipotentiary for Disabled Persons’ Affairs, and NGOs.

In the recommendations of international organisations, the approach to employing people with disabilities has visibly evolved, from a closed labour market to an open labour market being a part of the policy focused on diversity and full participation in social and professional life. This approach is widely reflected in both national and international provisions on employment of people with disabilities. One of its consequences is giving priority to the rule of equal opportunities and introducing the rule of non-discrimination of people with disabilities in labour relations. Clauses regarding these rules are included in all the above-mentioned national legal acts, as any act of discrimination against a person with disability, including access to employment, is now a violation of human rights. This approach also implies two ways of supporting professional activity of people with disabilities: as part of supported employment on the sheltered labour market, and also in the labour market open to all potential employees, including those who are disabled. Taking into account people with disabilities’ constricted access to the open market, provisions create various solutions to encourage employers to hire this category of employees. It should also be highlighted that in recent years there has been a growing trend in seeking alternative possibilities of employing people with disabilities as part of the social economy, and increased use of flexible work arrangements. In 2003, Polish legislation introduced the Act on Social Employment,

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which creates a legal basis for the development of social entrepreneurship. One of its aspects is the possibility of activating people in particularly difficult situation, including people with disabilities, whose competitive strength in the market is limited.

Literature on this subject emphasises that legislation concerning employment of people with disabilities in Poland requires simplification because now it constitutes, above all, a significant barrier impeding access of such people to the open labour market.

4.2 Policy framework In order to understand Poland’s policy towards the disabled, we should first comprehend the development of the policy towards persons with disabilities as well as the formation of the definition of disability in Poland. A crucial point is the fact that women with disabilities are not particularly distinguished in documents concerned with public policies.

The basic legal acts constituting a public policy towards disability in Poland were established in the period when the prevailing definition of disability was that adopted by WHO .

The year 1997 proved a landmark in this respect; the Constitution of the Republic of Poland was established, and a few months later the Sejm Resolution of 1 August 1997 Charter of Persons with Disabilities (M.P. 1997, No 50, item 475) was passed. The document is not a legal act, but a political declaration obliging the government to apply a number of rules of conduct towards persons with disabilities in the fields within the competence compass of public authorities. The approach to disability in the Charter falls within the socio-medical approach. While a medical condition is accepted to be a pivotal characteristic of disability, the latter is also defined with regard to its social consequences.

According to this document, social integration was both an aim and a responsibility of public authorities. On the other hand, such solutions and administrative activity related to them, in various cases reduced disability policy on rent benefits (entitlement to disability benefits) and workplace financial subsidies. This means that the social concept of disability has not been fully incorporated into the social policy in Poland. Consequently, the social integration remains, for the most part, only its declarative and not a factual goal.

Hence, high hopes are pinned on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention was ratified by Poland in 2012 (Journal of Laws, No. 0, Item 1169). The implementation of the Convention necessitates legal changes aimed at adjusting the social environment to the requirements of persons with disabilities.

However, the implementation of the Convention in Poland has not been effective.

Despite the fact that during the ratification of the Convention Poland worked on a series of domestic strategies delineating directions of development for the years to come, the problematic situation of persons with disabilities found marginal coverage, and the problem of women with disabilities was not addressed at all. Particular strategies are characterised below, along with the scope in which they concern persons with disabilities, given the improvement of their opportunities in the job market.

The Long-term National Development Strategy (DSRK) Poland 2030. The Third Wave of Modernity is one of the strategic documents defining the vision and directions of national development in the long term until 2030. With regard to persons with disabilities, DSRK sees their fundamental role in the aspect of increasing share in the job market. Goal 6 points to one of the directions of intervention, which is supposed to create conditions conducive to the rise in the employment of persons with disabilities in the open job market:

• increasing the participation of children with disabilities in universal education;

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• modernising the protected job market by way of changing functions, increasing the role of rehabilitation and enhancing its social role, as well as adopting instruments motivating persons with disabilities to take up jobs on the open job market;

• improving the accessibility of medical rehabilitation and provision of persons with disabilities with functional and innovative orthopaedic items and aids is a priority action that will affect the quality of life and an increase in the employment of persons with disabilities;

• after the audit, making changes to financing the support of the employment of persons with disabilities.

However, the monitoring of the strategy concerned with persons with disabilities only provided for:

• increasing the employment rate of persons with disabilities aged 16–64 from 20.5 % in 2009 to 32 % in 2030;

• increasing the employment share of persons with disabilities in the open job market from 48 % in 2009 to more than 60 % in 2030.

The National Development Strategy 2020 was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 25 September 2012. Considering the indices on the attainment of the strategy goals and the context within which the reference was made to persons with disabilities, the key area in the Polish policy on disability is noteworthy. Above all, it is an increase in the occupational activity of persons with disabilities, which is related to the changes to the education system as well as the emphasis on inclusive education and the role of the open job market. Among the proposed indices, only one directly refers to persons with disabilities, that is the employment rate of persons with disabilities aged 16–64. This rate is projected to rise from 20.5 % in 2010 to 27 % in 2020, given the assumed increase in the employment rate of the general population aged 20–64 from 64.6 % to 70.1 %.

The National Regional Development Strategy (KSRR) is the regions, cities and rural areas strategy for sustainable development of rural areas, agriculture, and fisheries in 2012–2020. The main goal of the strategy is ‘improvement of the quality of life in rural areas and an effective use of their resources and potential, including agriculture and fisheries, for the sustainable development of the country.’ Among the five set specific goals, only one offers a direct reference to persons with disabilities: ‘An increase in the quality of human and social capital, employment and enterprise in rural areas.’ Activities aimed at preventing and containing social exclusion, as well as at activating inhabitants will be undertaken. The following directions of interventions were pointed out:

• development and promotion of social economics;

• strengthening and development of social capital;

• promotion and development of the elderly and disabled care services.

None of the intervention directions are pointed out in KSRR, and concerns over persons with disabilities have not been measured.

The Human Capital Development Strategy 2020 (SRKL) points out that the approach proposed therein is in line with the EU 2020 strategy. This means that besides innovation and sustainable development, economic growth should be conducive to social inclusion. SRKL details five specific goals of strategic relevance for the development of human capital in Poland.

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As for the implementation of the first specific goal, Employment growth, the following directions of intervention pertaining to persons with disabilities were highlighted:

• limiting the factors discouraging employers from employing or taking up and maintaining occupational activity as well as increasing the attractiveness (profitability) of work for persons with low employability skills, e.g. the elderly, women and persons with disabilities;

• effective occupational activation of non-working persons and persons seeking employment;

• giving equal opportunities to various socio-demographic groups in the job market, including the disabled.

In the third specific goal, ‘Improvement of the situation of persons and groups threatened with social exclusion’, apart from the projected employment growth, ‘creation of a system providing every citizen with access to public services that will enable a reduction in, or elimination of, deficits or dysfunctions and a rectification of disproportions, that will make it possible to take up work’ was recognised as a priority which should be implemented through, inter alia, the proposed directions of intervention:

• containing the scale of poverty and the risk of poverty, in particular among children, the elderly and the disabled;

• universal access to public services and occupational activity in the open job market for the disabled;

• support for the disabled and their environment.

For the evaluation of the effects of the strategy only two indices are used; they concern activities undertaken for the sake of persons with disabilities:

• increasing the proportion of children with disabilities attending mainstream schools to the general population of children with disabilities subject to compulsory schooling (from 47.41 % in 2011 to 50 % in 2020);

• increasing the employment rate of persons with disabilities aged 16–64 (from 20.7 % in 2011 to 27 % in 2020).

Since 2016 the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has been working on the National Programme for People with Disabilities. It is supposed to be a programme aimed at accelerating the implementation of the Convention. However, details of the programme are not available.

4.3 The role of the EU Structural Funds As regards the areas of intervention related to Structural Fund spending defined by the Polish government, the question of women with disabilities is not indicated directly.

However, the issue of disability and gender is regulated within horizontal principles, written in the Guidelines for the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination, including accessibility for people with disabilities and the principle of equal opportunities for men and women within the framework of the EU funds for 2014–2020. The document imposes on Poland an obligation to prevent any forms of discrimination based on disability and gender. It is worth mentioning, though, that guidelines referring to disability are separated from those referring to gender. It should be noted that there are no data available yet on how this principle is being implemented. The evaluation of its implementation is planned for the second half of 2017.

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A description of documents related to people with disabilities follows.

The Partnership Agreement (PA) is a document defining the strategy of interventions of European Funds within the framework of three EU policies: the cohesion policy, the common agricultural policy (CAP) and common fisheries policy (CFP) in Poland in the years 2014–2020. National and regional operational programmes together with the PA constitute a coherent system of strategic and programming documents for the new financial perspective6.

The key issue contained in the document regards the necessity of prevention of discrimination due to, inter alia, disability. This means that the needs of people with disabilities have to be taken into consideration in all stages of operational programmes. Implementation of this rule shall be performed as a result of the following activities:

• promoting the rule of equal opportunities and prevention of disability within the framework of all operational programmes of educational activities addressed both to employees of institutions involved operational programmes implementation, and project providers/beneficiaries;

• bodies representing civil society, including partners responsible for promoting equality and non-discrimination, become members of the Committee monitoring the implementation of non-discrimination rule;

• monitoring of participation of people with disabilities and support in the form of adaptation of facilities to the needs of people with disabilities in CT 8–10 projects, as well as gathering relevant statistical data;

• examination and approval by the Monitoring Committee, in particular, undertakings focused on promoting equal opportunities and non-discrimination, including accessibility for people with disabilities as defined in The European Disability Strategy 2010–2020: A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe;

• creating and monitoring the implementation of operational programmes involving organisations representing and acting on behalf of people with disabilities.

The OP Knowledge Education Development 2014–2020 (POWER) is the most important operational programme for people with disabilities.

It should be noted that the following activities have been defined within Objective 4: Increasing the capacity of public policy actors to implement the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:

• identification of legal, administrative and organisational barriers to implementation of provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in terms of public policies, including also their complementarity and coherence, and the identification of desirable lines of action;

• monitoring of activities of central and local government units in terms of rights of people with disabilities;

• formulation of recommendations on adjustment of public policies to the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ensuring their complementarity and coherence;

• enhancement of competences of persons participating in the process of formulating and implementing public policies in the area of ensuring equal opportunities and accessibility for people with disabilities.

6 PA, Introduction, p. 5

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Objective 5 Improving the quality of actions implemented by public and non-public entities for social and professional activation of people with disabilities, which assumes7:

• development and implementation of instruments supporting employment of people with disabilities and their remaining on the labour market;

• extension of the existing statutory solutions implemented by public and non-public entities for social inclusion of people with disabilities and development of new solutions in this regard;

• development and popularisation, in co-operation with social partners, of the model of support for people with disabilities in the working environment.

The mid-term evaluation of the OP Knowledge Education Development 2014–2020 implementation is planned for the second half of 2017.

7 POWER, pp. 87–88

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Table 1: Main legal and policy measures addressing discrimination and access to employment for women with disabilities

Name of the intervention and

period

Main category of intervention

(infrastructure, business support,

social infrastructure,

social services, labour market

policies, education and training

policies, social protection and

welfare policies, other)

Brief description and

beneficiaries

Level of responsibility

(EU, state, region, county,

town)

Resource allocation

(if possible)

Expected direct/indirect

effects in a gender

perspective (high, medium,

low) motivation

Constitution of the Republic of Poland 1997 Disabled Professional and Social Rehabilitation and Employment Act Long-term Strategy of National Development Poland 2030. Third Wave of Modernity National Development Strategy 2020 National Regional Development Strategy Human Capital Development Strategy 2020

labour market policies, social protection and welfare policies labour market policies, social protection labour market policies, education and training policies, social protection and welfare policies labour market policies, education labour market policies, education labour market policies, education

people with disabilities state

About EUR 1 billion a year

low

The OP Knowledge Education Development 2014–2020 (POWER) – ESF

social infrastructure, social services, labour market policies, education and training policies, social protection and welfare policies

people with disabilities

state EUR 35,265,218

medium

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5. EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICES Finding a balance between subsidies for employers, and respecting the rights of people with disabilities as fully-fledged members of society, is still a challenge in Poland. Polish employers from an open market gradually change their attitude towards hiring people with disabilities: they start to perceive them as a valuable workforce, not a burden. Research carried out among employers shows clearly that those entrepreneurs who have experience in hiring people with disabilities present their companies as outstanding, different to others. Good practices and procedures implemented in their workplace are described as innovative. Something that is supposed to be a standard procedure – that is, equal chances and equal treatment policy towards people with disabilities – is still perceived as something atypical and poorly institutionalised. Even the public institutions (such as ministries, for example), despite financial consequences, most often prefer not to hire people with disabilities. In other words, it seems hard to expect certain behaviour from private entrepreneurs, when the public sector is not serving as a positive role model.

Due to the lack of the multiple discrimination issue in the public debate (described in detail in other parts of this report), employers do not perceive women with disabilities as a separate group. As a consequence, companies do not design any solutions addressed specifically to disabled women. According to the literature available and the stakeholders interviewed, in Poland there is no single good practice in terms of women with disabilities and the labour market. Even those companies in which special programmes addressed to both people with disabilities and women are implemented, do not see women with disabilities as a group that might be included in a separate employment programme.

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6. CURRENT AND FUTURE POLICY CHALLENGES ACCORDING TO NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS

6.1 Current and future challenges During interviews, experts and stakeholders pointed out the following challenges Poland is facing in terms of improving the situation of people with disabilities.

• Raising social awareness over the rights and situation of people with disabilities

In Poland there is a strongly rooted belief that a person with a disability is dependent, and requires care and special treatment. As a consequence, people with disabilities are not perceived as full members of society. It determines their situation in the education system, labour market and other areas in the public sphere.

• Improving the accessibility of services and infrastructure for people with disabilities

Experts underlined that the key goal is to enable people with disabilities to function within a society with no restrictions. Currently it seems impossible due to the fact that the lack of accessibility problem persists in the majority of social areas: public health institutions, education system, public transport, etc.

• Introducing the issue of multiple discrimination in terms of women with disabilities into the public debate

At the moment, women with disabilities do not exist in a public discourse as a specific group with specific needs. As a consequence, their problems are not being tackled. The following topics may serve as an example: access to gynaecological care, protection from any forms of violence, preventing discrimination in the labour market based on gender and disability.

• Changing the benefit and pension system, so it will not discourage or prevent people with disability from being active in the labour market

This problem refers especially to women, who – because of fear of losing social benefits and their awareness of poor chances in the labour market – more often decide not to work.

6.2 Solutions and recommendations proposed • Students’ curricula should include lectures on disability in the context of the subject

studied. As an example, future architects should be aware of how to design buildings accessible to people with disabilities. Thanks to such an approach within education, new projects and solutions in different areas would take into account all members of society.

• Social campaigns aimed at presenting new role models for women with disabilities should be carried out. They would show the whole society that women with disabilities can be competent employees, work at managerial positions, be employers.

• Local support centres for people with disabilities should be opened. They would focus on an individualised approach towards people with disabilities, an approach that would not be, among others, gender-blind. These centres would help each person with disability to get concrete information about their options in terms of education, work, healthcare.

• Statistical data collection should include such variables as gender and type of disability.

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7. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

7.1 Conclusions The issue of multiple discrimination, and in particular the multiple discrimination against women with disabilities is almost non-existent in the Polish public debate. Moreover, in the current political context – with gender perspective being considered as a harmful ideology – this situation is very unlikely to change.

However, statistics show clearly that women with disabilities are particularly disadvantaged in the labour market compared to men with disabilities or women without disabilities. According to the National Census, as much as 90 % of women with disabilities are not active in the labour market. The system for vocational activation in Poland is very extensive and complex, yet ineffective. The experts point out to two key reasons:

First, for many years the most prevalent definition of people with disabilities focused on the medical and social issues. The emphasis was on the challenges, limitations and problems that people with disabilities experience as a result of their illness. As a consequence, it has been assumed that medical intervention and socio-vocational rehabilitation are crucial for alleviation of those issues so these people can adapt to the labour market requirements.

Second, the existing system of support for people with disabilities has some shortcomings – getting even a short-term job can often result in a person losing the financial support and reapplying can be a tedious, stressful and bureaucratic process. As a result, the system is demotivating for people with disabilities to find any job.

The socio-medical paradigm of disability is deeply rooted in the social consciousness. It is the foundation for creating of the legal framework for any regulations pertaining to people with disabilities. As a consequence, people with disabilities are being considered as one homogenous group of people that needs help. Instead, they should be considered fully-fledged members of society and the state should provide such conditions under which the disabilities that they deal with are as least apparent as possible.

Only after Poland signed the Convention in 2012 did the attitude towards this issue change. The debate on people with disabilities is limited to a small group of NGOs and a few scientific communities that deal with those issues. These groups, however, are fragmented and often represent different interests (mostly related to different types of disabilities). For some groups, the ongoing changes may not be considered favourable. Noticeably, gender issues are hardly debated and what is more, discrimination of women with disabilities is a marginal topic also among the people with disabilities.

Implementation of the Convention in Poland is a slow process. When the Convention was ratified by the country, there was ongoing work on development strategies in various areas, however it covered disability issues in a very limited way, while at the same time completely ignoring gender issues related to disability. Up until now, EU funds from the 2009–2013 perspective have not been invested in an efficient manner: for instance, significant funds have been allocated to training, however no individualised solutions have been developed to address the specific needs of particular groups. It seems that in the current financial perspective any significant improvement in this area is unlikely. In addition to implementation of the Convention under the operational programme Knowledge Education Development for 2014–2020, actions towards disabled women are performed mainly under horizontal principles, i.e. each project funded by EU funds should include references to discriminated groups.

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Implementation of the Convention is impacting the debate on disability. Expert groups began to condemn activities that result in a clear separation of people with disabilities from people without disabilities. For example, it has been proposed to include people with disabilities in the general employment policy, i.e. instead of creating a separate law for these people; it was proposed that the general Labour Code would include provisions to prevent their discrimination in the labour market.

7.2 Policy implications Experts made it clear that the key challenge for people with disabilities is the change in social awareness. In this context, it is also very important to emphasise the gender dimension of disability.

According to experts, the change in social awareness should be accompanied by a policy of disability mainstreaming, i.e. taking into account the perspectives of diverse groups with disabilities at every stage of life, especially in education.

Furthermore, it is necessary to increase funding on research on persons with disabilities, also in the gender dimension. Nowadays, the results of research projects – which are rarely undertaken – are not included in the development of public policies. For instance, researchers have been pointing out that most of the data is not disaggregated by gender or type of disability.

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ANNEXES

ANNEX I – LIST OF DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED • Arczewska, M. Zatrudnienie osób niepełnosprawnych w świetle przepisów prawa

międzynarodowego i polskiego, Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, 2012, http://polscyniepelnosprawni.agh.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/ Arczewska-ekspertyza.pdf

• Bednarczyk, A., Kowalska, B., Król, A., Matlak, M., Migalska, A., Slany, K., Warat, M., Genderowy wymiar niepełnosprawności. Raport z badań jakościowych, University of Science and Technology, Cracow, 2014, http://polscyniepelnosprawni.agh.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/Anna-Bednarczyk-Beata-Kowalska-Agnieszka-Kr%C3%B3l-Ma%C5%82gorzata-Matlak-Aleksandra-Migalska-Krystyna-Slany-Marta-Warat-Genderowy-wymiar-niepe%C5%82nosprawno%C5%9Bci-Raport-z-bada%C5%84-jako%C5%9Bciowych.pdf

• Boni, M., (red.), Polska 2030. Wyzwania rozwojowe, The Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Warsaw, 2009, https://www.mpips.gov.pl/gfx/mpips/userfiles/_public/ 1_NOWA%20STRONA/Aktualnosci/seniorzy/badania%20aktywne%20starzenie/pl_2030_wyzwania_rozwojowe.pdf

• Gąciarz, B., Rudnicki, S., Polscy niepełnosprawni. Od kompleksowej diagnozy do nowego modelu polityki społecznej, University of Science and Technology, Cracow, 2014,

http://polscyniepelnosprawni.agh.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/polscyniepelnosprawni.pdf

• Giermanowska, E., (red.), Zatrudniając niepełnosprawnych. Dobre praktyki pracodawców w Polsce i innych krajach Europy, University of Science and Technology, Cracow, 2014, http://polscyniepelnosprawni.agh.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/ ksiazka_ zatrudniajac_niepelnosprawnych_dobre_praktyki.pdf

• Migalska, O., Król, A., Diagnoza i dobre praktyki dotyczące polityk włączania do głównego nurtu życia społecznego kobiet i dziewcząt z niepełnosprawnościami. Doświadczenia międzynarodowe, University of Science and Technology, Cracow, 2014.

• Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development 2014–2020.

• Pawłowska-Cyprysiak, K. Aktywność zawodowa kobiet z niepełnosprawnością, Central Institute for Labour Protection, Warsaw, 2014,

https://www.ciop.pl/CIOPPortalWAR/file/71787/06-A-07_opis.pdf

• Resolution of the Council of Ministers No 104 of 18 June 2013 on the acceptance of the Human Capital Development Strategy, 2020.

• Resolution of the Council of Ministers No 16 of 5 February 2013 on the acceptance of the Long-term Strategy of National Development. Poland 2030. Third Wave of Modernity.

• Resolution of the Council of Ministers No 163 of 25 April 2012 on the acceptance of the Strategy for the sustainable development of the countryside, agriculture, and fishery in the years 2012–2020.

• Resolution of the Council of Ministers on the Acceptance of the Draft Partnership Agreement for 2014–2020.

• Społeczny raport alternatywny z realizacji Konwencji o prawach osób z niepełnosprawnościami w Polsce, Warsaw, 2015,

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http://monitoringobywatelski.firr.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Spo%C5%82eczny-Raport-Alternatywny_ostateczny.pdf

• Study on discrimination and access to employment for female workers with disabilities, Policy Department A: Economic and scientific policy and quality of life policies.

• The Census 2011, Central Statistical Office of Poland, Warsaw, 2012.

• The Resolution of the Council of Ministers on the Acceptance of the Draft Operational Programme. Technical Assistance, 2014–2020.

• Wolski, P., Zatrudnienie osób niepełnosprawnych, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem usług pośrednictwa pracy, doradztwa zawodowego i wsparcia przedsiębiorczości dla osób niepełnosprawnych w Polsce oraz ocena ich wpływu na proces integracji społecznej, University of Science and Technology, Cracow, 2014, http://polscyniepelnosprawni.agh.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/1_3_06_1_raport_ ekspercki_polozenie_zbiorowosci_ONS_w_PL_modul_I_Wolski.pdf

• Wytyczne w zakresie realizacji zasady równości szans i niedyskryminacji, w tym dostępności dla osób z niepełnosprawnościami oraz zasady równości szans kobiet i mężczyzn w ramach funduszy unijnych na lata 2014–2020, Warsaw, 2015 https://www.funduszeeuropejskie.gov.pl/media/2470/Wytyczne_zasady_rownosci_szans12052015.pdf

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ANNEX II – LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS INTERVIEWED 1. Agnieszka Król – sociologist, researcher, expert in the field of women with disabilities,

co-author of the report Gender dimension of disability carried out under the framework of the project Polish people with disabilities. From a comprehensive diagnosis of the situation of people with disabilities in Poland to a new model of social policy.

2. Teresa Hernik – former Government Plenipotentiary for Disabled People (2010–2014) and former President of the Executive Board of the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled People (2014–2016).

3. Mariola Racław (PhD) – sociologist working at the University of Warsaw, expert in the field of disability and the labour market.

4. Katarzyna Żeglicka – President of the Executive Board of The Venus de Milo, which main goal is to improve the quality of living of women with disabilities.

5. Przemysław Żydok – Member of the Executive Board of the Activation Foundation, member of the committee monitoring the implementation of Structural Funds 2014–2020 within the field of disability.

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ANNEX III – GOOD PRACTICE FICHE Name/title of the practice/initiative Name of the responsible body for implementation Type of instrument/intervention [e.g. specify if the initiative concerns: job intermediation and placement, traineeships programmes; courses; job counselling and guidance; business creation support; psychosocial service (empowerment); childcare services, housing, transportation, other]

Period of implementation [Specify when the project/strategy/experience started, if it is still ongoing or finished and if concluded, indicate when]

Level and/or sector of implementation [Specify if the project/strategy/experience is implemented at a national, regional, local level and/or sector level]

Main goals and expected results [Specify the objects of the project/strategy/experience and the results it is supposed to achieve]

Main actors involved [Specify the promoter and partners of the project/policy and the typology of actors involved]

Short description of the policy/strategy

Main target groups

Activities

Other relevant aspects

Financial coverage [If possible specify the overall financial assignment and the provenance of funding (European, national, regional, local) and if this involves Structural Funds, community initiatives, etc.]

Main results/achievements to date according to available monitoring/evaluations [Both quantitative and qualitative – specify results and outputs]

Achievements in gender mainstreaming

Innovative elements [Describe main innovative elements]

Reproducibility/transferability elements [Specify which part of the project/strategy/experience could be reproduced and the context conditions/elements that would be useful for its reproducibility]

Sustainability [Specify the project sustainability and its fund-raising possibilities, etc.]

Lessons learnt • Main weaknesses/obstacles [encountered in the implementation and the

ways they were overcome] • Main positive elements • Other relevant aspects

Additional comments (if any)