Increasing the number of disabled people in employment as a factor determining their entrepreneurship

Disabled people are particularly exposed to social exclusion and poverty. This state of affairs is primarily caused by negative attitudes adopted by society, poor education, insufficient support in the scope of education and programmes aimed at combating social marginalization, and particularly programmes that should promote employing the disabled in open labour market. It is obvious that the development of entrepreneurship of disabled people, equated with employment rate for this population, reduces budgetary burdens placed on a country as a result of social security benefits, which lowers the risk of exclusion. On the other hand, it facilitates integration with the entire society and provides the disabled with equal employment opportunities. Due to the aforementioned determinants, entrepreneurship of disabled people is currently becoming one the most important priorities for employment policy pursued by the European Union. The present article is aimed at characterizing the entrepreneurship of disabled people in chosen Member States, reflected in the percentage of this population in employment.