EMPLOYERS ATTITUDES TOWARDS PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES - A COMPARISON OF NATIONAL AND NEW-YORK-STATE DATA

This paper compares the results of two large-scale studies conducted a s part of an ongoing research programme on employers' attitudes toward s the employability of persons with severe disabilities - a study of F ortune 500 corporations and a study of employers doing business in New York State. The results indicated that both groups of employers were favourable towards the employability of persons with disabilities. Exe cutives from large national corporations were more favourable than tho se from the predominantly small companies doing business in New York S tate. Prior contact with persons with disabilities that was positively evaluated appeared to differentiate those more and less favourable in both study groups, especially in the smaller companies of the New Yor k State study group. Employers' characteristics associated with differ ences in attitudes in the literature (e.g. education, work experience) also appeared to be confirmed by data from New York State companies m ore than from the corporations of the Fortune 500.