Accessibility of Assistive Technologies as a Factor in the Successful Realization of the Labor Potential of Persons with Disabilities: Russia’s Experience

Abstract

In this article, the accessibility of assistive technologies is considered as a factor in the realization of the labor potential of persons with disabilities and is analyzed in the context of the accessibility of the urban environment, the enterprise environment, and directly at the workplace. The analysis was based on data from two studies, which were devoted to persons with disabilities in Moscow’s labor market, but the identified problems were not specific to the capital region. In Russian provinces, these issues are even more acute due to the scarcity of regional budgets and the populations’ lower standards of living. The results showed that there were contradictions and problems in each of the considered aspects of this problem. In terms of quantity, the availability of assistive technologies to persons with disabilities is growing, but modern assistive technologies are often not accessible to disabled people because of the high cost and specifics of the public procurement system. Among other barriers to the use of modern assistive technologies by persons with disabilities are ignorance and conservatism of employees of the medical and social expertise systems. The urban environment and urban transport have become more adapted to the needs of disabled people, but existing improvements are far from being sufficient, and many of them are imitative. The State declares the need to include persons with disabilities in the labor sphere, but at the same time insufficiently stimulates employers to create adapted workplaces and does not support enterprises specializing in providing employment for people with disabilities. All of these factors confirm the need for an integrated approach to study the implementation processes of ATs.