The CDI-HSG pursues the following goals with its work:
The CDI-HSG contributes to the further development of inclusion research through contributions in the fields of business administration, economics and applied disability and anchors this as a fixed research focus at the HSG.
The knowledge gained is transferred both to university teaching and to business practice, thus contributing in the long term to an increase in the employment rate of people with disabilities.
The CDI-HSG builds national and international networks with researchers, universities and companies in the field of inclusion and diversity research.
The exclusion of people with disabilities from the labor market is detrimental to those affected, to companies and to the economy as a whole.
The number of people with disabilities has risen significantly in all industrialized countries in recent decades. 14 percent of the working-age population has a disability (OECD, Transforming Disability into Ability, 2003). However, only 40 percent of people with disabilities are in employment (OECD, Sickness, Disability and Work, 2009). Due to demographic change, the number of potential employees will also decrease in the coming years.
Nevertheless, qualified workers with disabilities are still severely underrepresented in companies. People with disabilities who are not integrated into the work process pose a considerable challenge to social security systems. The financing of social security systems is also a burden on our economy and society. The lack of integration into society and work creates a climate of dissatisfaction among people with disabilities and gradually reduces their ability to work and perform.
Against this background, the CDI-HSG is concerned with the inclusion of people with disabilities in society and work.
We want to improve the professional inclusion of people with disabilities through sustainable contributions in research, teaching and practice.
In doing so, we want to make a decisive contribution to increasing the independence and quality of life of people with and without disabilities and, by increasing the employment rate, make a sustainable contribution to relieving the burden on social security systems.
The focus on the topics of responsibility and sustainability is supported and promoted by the University of St.Gallen. As a leading business university, it aims to contribute to overcoming the challenges of globally responsible action and the sustainable development of the economy and society. You can find out more about the HSG's various initiatives and other research areas in this field on the University of St.Gallen's Responsibility & Sustainability Portal.