Promotional opportunities for persons with disabilities in the selected Limpopo provincial departments, in South Africa

Abstract

The persistent issues of disability in the workplace remain a significant global concern, hence previous studies have shown that persons with disabilities continue to face substantial barriers to career advancement, leading to a pronounced employment rate gap between those with and without disabilities. This study aims to explore promotional opportunities for persons with disabilities in the selected Limpopo provincial departments in South Africa. The study is exploratory and adopts a qualitative method. It focuses on two provincial departments of the Limpopo Province of South Africa, specifically the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD). Seventeen respondents were purposively sampled, nine were persons with different disabilities and eight were human resource management officials. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide to collect data. Thematic data analysis was utilised to analyse the collected data, and themes presented in tables, pie charts, and percentages. The study was limited to persons with disabilities and HRM officials. The findings show that persons with disabilities applied for promotion and got promoted. However, they are still in the same positions they were promoted to in previous years and mentioned several barriers to their promotion. The findings revealed several barriers to promotion such as a lack of promotional posts and opportunities, institutional barriers, and a lack of assistive devices. The study recommends that government departments should develop and implement policies that better support and accommodate persons with disabilities, alongside offering comprehensive training, educational, and developmental programmes