The Chester disabled people's march is one of over fifty events happening across the UK in conjunction with disability charity Scope's Time the Get Equal Week. Other findings of the survey: One in ten people in the North West said that, if they had a colleague who became disabled, they would expect their employer to retire their colleague on medical grounds, demote them to a less senior position, or continue their colleague's employment only if it did not make any difference to their own working conditions. 42% of respondents from the North West did not know a disabled person. Over a quarter of people in the North West do not know a disabled person and cannot name a famous disabled person.
Of those who could name a famous disabled person, Stephen Hawking was the most frequently mentioned name, followed by Tanya Grey-Thompson and then Heather Mills McCartney.
Nearly two-thirds of people in the North West (65%) said that the word disablism should be put in the dictionary, so that people are made aware of this in the same way they are aware of sexism and racism. 42% of people in the North West think that employers discriminate against disabled people because they believe disabled employees will be more expensive due to equipment or adaptations needed.
For more information please contact Lucy Pogson in the Scope press office on 020 7619 7201 or email lucy.pogson@scope.org.uk.
For out-of- hours press enquiries please call 07782 208 943.
Notes to Editors:
· Scope is a national disability organisation which focuses on people with cerebral palsy, a physical condition that affects movement.
· Scope's mission is to drive the change to make our society the first where disabled people achieve equality. Scope's Time to Get Equal campaign aims to build a mass movement of one million people to help achieve this. To find out more visit www.scope.org.uk/timetogetequal.
· The research surveyed over 1,500 adults across the UK and was carried out by Tickbox.net on behalf of Scope.
