Designing Equity-Centred HRM Systems for Nigeria’s Disability-Inclusive Workforce: Barriers, Enablers, and a Theoretical Framework

This study develops a theoretical and practical framework for equity-centred HRM system design for disability-inclusive workforces in Nigeria, responding to the chronic exclusion of persons with disabilities from formal employment and the near-total absence of disability-responsive HRM models in Nigerian organisational and academic discourse. Nigeria's Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities Prohibition Act 2018 established legal protections, yet enforcement and organisational compliance remain critically underdeveloped. The study employs a critical participatory research design, partnering with 35 employed and 25 unemployed persons with disabilities as co-researchers and data providers alongside HR practitioners and policy actors. Data are collected through 60 in-depth interviews, four participatory focus groups, a national survey of 180 HR directors, and documentary analysis of disability HRM policies in 25 Nigerian organisations. Disability Studies Theory, Equity Theory, Capability Approach, and Critical HRM Theory jointly provide the multi-theoretic foundation. Findings reveal that Nigerian organisations exhibit four disability HRM postures: exclusionary, tokenistic, accommodating, and genuinely integrative, each associated with distinct HRM practice configurations. Systemic barriers include attitudinal ableism embedded in organisational cultures, inaccessible recruitment and assessment processes, inadequate reasonable accommodation frameworks, and limited managerial disability confidence. Enablers include leadership disability commitment, universal design HRM architectures, and peer disability inclusion ambassadors. Original theoretical contributions include the Equity-Centred Disability HRM Framework, a Disability-Inclusive HRM Audit Tool, and a Disability HRM Maturity Model calibrated for Nigerian organisations. Policy recommendations target legislative enforcement mechanisms, employer incentive structures, and HRM professional disability training curricula. Keywords: Disability Inclusion, Equity-Centred HRM, Reasonable Accommodation, Nigeria, Disability Policy.