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Identities of gender and disability can provoke questions of exclusion and inclusion in workplaces. In particular, disabled Canadians who are underrepresented in the workforce are experiencing underemployment in the form of underutilized skills or unmet potential in the job market. This presentation will reveal the current status and cultural shifts in employment equity, and begin to answer related questions: 1) What is underemployment in and through the lives of disabled women? 2) How can underemployment be addressed at the organizational level? 3) What are the promising practices which aim to advance employment equity? 4) What are the significant employment equity changes and gaps? Narratives of disability and underemployment can relay insights and emotions to alert employers, policy makers and the public to the dire concerns for disabled persons. Drawing from the narratives and diversity practices from Canadian employers, promising strategies will be offered to reduce structural, environmental and attitudinal barriers to employment equity. Finally, cultural shifts in employment equity will be examined in relation to the broader context of workplaces across Canada. An understanding of the Canadian workplace can open a dialogue for international comparative analysis of challenges, practices, policies and legislation on gender and disability inequalities.

employment equity; disability; women; gender equity