One Young World 2022 SDG 8 Challenge for Closing the Disability Employment Gap

People with disabilities make up 15% of the world’s total population, making this group of 1 billion people, the world’s largest minority group¹. Data from the United Nations suggests that people with disabilities in industrialized countries are 50-70% more likely to be unemployed than those living without a disability. The gap significantly widens in developing countries where up to 80-90% of people with disabilities are unemployed ². With news sources around the world reporting an emerging global labour shortage, we have an incredible opportunity to address these issues holistically and identify new solutions that ensure a better and more equitable future for all. As the world’s largest specialist ophthalmology company, Santen’s goal is to reduce the loss of social and economic opportunities for people with vision impairment globally. Aligned to our goal, Santen is proud to support the Lead2030 Challenge for SDG 8. We are committed to reducing inequity and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for people with disabilities. We want to dedicate our challenge to increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities and we need action, advocacy and new ideas that will ensure that everyone is given an equitable opportunity to succeed. Our challenge aims to identify solutions that contribute towards reducing the disability employment gap, focused on solutions that address awareness campaigns, education, recruitment and retention programs, improved policies and practices, technological or policy inequalities and/or inaccessibility. We are seeking young innovators who are leading sustainable, market-ready and scalable solutions which have demonstrated meaningful impact for the employability of people with disabilities. Our challenge welcomes innovative and inclusive solutions that are: Focused on technologies, products which enable greater accessibility to persons with disabilities to achieve improved educational outcomes and full and productive employment and decent work. Promoting reforms, and/or advocacy that will drive the changes necessary to unlock employment opportunities for people with disabilities to achieve equal pay for work of equal value. Services, solutions and/or initiatives that value add at any stage of the employment lifecycle for example education, recruitment, on-boarding, physical and virtual working environment, training, career development As the world’s largest specialist ophthalmology company, we would love to support solutions that in some way address employment inclusion for people with vision impairment, as well as other critical disability categories.