Mainstreaming Disability in the Workplace in Myanmar: Preliminary Study Findings

International businesses have been under pressure to consider inclusive workplace practices and mainstream the disability agenda. After decades of isolation as Myanmar slowly opens itself to the world, global businesses making their inroads into the country are poised with several challenges in addressing the agenda of people with disabilities (PWD) in the workplace in Myanmar. This article reports the preliminary study findings of a qualitative study of business professionals, as well as civil society members including PWD, based in the business capital city of Yangon, to examine the various business impediments in their engagement with disabled people in the workplace. The preliminary findings indicate three barriers for businesses in engaging with the issue of disabilities. These are restricted business understandings, a weak social model of disability, nascent management approaches, and an absence of skills and resources for PWD. The study indicates that in the absence of strong public policies and a regulatory environment, voluntary business participation through stakeholder engagement with the government and PWD is an essential way forward for businesses to facilitate disability mainstreaming in the workplace in Myanmar.