This October, disability rights advocates are focusing on spreading awareness about employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
David Steinmetz with Arizona Industries For The Blind says employment opportunities for visually impaired Arizonans are greatly improving thanks to technology.
"Forty-five percent of hiring managers believe that there are no jobs within their organization that someone who is blind can do," Steinmetz said. "There’s a lot of free technology — so it’s not necessarily a cost barrier, which a lot of people I think believe.
"Access to printed information, having technology to be able to capture information quickly and provide it in a format that you need to do your job," are typical challenges visually impaired employees face, Steinmetz said.
Steinmetz says besides negative perceptions of blind people’s capabilities, access to reliable transportation is a big barrier to employment.
