Human Rights: The Right to Work in Academia

This article considers aspects of The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) (UN, 2006), relevant internationally, and the Equality Act 2010 which applies in England, Scotland and Wales. Focussing on work in academia, it explores insider perspective research involving disabled academics seeking to progress in academic careers. It illuminates barriers arising from systematic ableism and workplace injustices, and considers enablers which make academic work possible. Enablers include reliable, empathic, anticipatory, logical (REAL) systems, based on universal design, and peer support. Institutional failure to make employment work for disabled academics arises from ableist attitudes, culture and infrastructure which often inadvertently constructs disabling obstacles throughout the employment journey. Failing to address these issues translates into violations of human rights through non-compliance with equalities legislation, leading to wasted potential. The aim of this contribution is to support positive progress towards inclusive academic employment and the authors argue that lessons learned from the pandemic may be helpful in this regard.