Inclusão de pessoas com deficiência no mercado de trabalho: análise em uma cidade do interior de Minas Gerais

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze whether People with Disabilities (PWD) of working age are integrated into the labor market in positions related to their field of training, seeking to understand to what extent public policies and business practices promote the effective professional inclusion of this population. Despite the established legal framework in Brazil, it is observed that the implementation of labor inclusion still faces challenges related to prejudice, lack of accessibility, and organizational and social barriers. This is a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive research conducted between October 2024 and October 2025. Through descriptive analyses and content analysis, the interpretation of the obtained data was carried out. Information was gathered through semi-structured interviews administered to fourteen persons with disabilities (PWD), both employed and unemployed, aged between 18 and 60 years, and to two Human Resources managers from companies that volunteered to participate in the study. Participant selection was done through non-probabilistic chain sampling of the "snowball" type. In the data analysis stage, the interviews with both included and excluded PWD in the labor market, as well as with Human Resources managers, were fundamental to understanding the investigated reality. The use of content analysis allowed for organizing the meanings and significances of the narratives into two main axes and four categories: Axis 1 - Processes of Exclusionary Attitudinal Relations and Discriminatory Cultures, with the categories: “Barriers and Accessibility” and “Prejudice and Ableism.” Axis 2 - Social and Organizational Identity Relations, with the categories: “Interpersonal Relations” and “Autonomy and Experiences of Belonging.” This systematization enabled the identification of barriers, institutional gaps, and possibilities for improving labor inclusion practices, revealing both persistent challenges and potential pathways for the consolidation of an inclusive organizational culture. The analyses show that the inclusion of PWD in the labor market and in different social contexts is still strongly affected by exclusionary attitudes and discriminatory cultures. Overcoming these barriers, especially the attitudinal and cultural ones, is essential for organizations and society to advance toward a truly inclusive culture, ensuring equitable conditions, dignity, and real opportunities for autonomy for PWD.