Disabled job candidates are not second best

I am always wary when someone answers “but we must recruit the best person for the job” in response to a challenge about equality legislation or the employment of under-represented groups in the workforce. It makes it sound like the recruiter sees equality in work as something antipathetic to good recruitment.Speaking as a disabled person, I have a vested interest in ensuring that whenever a disabled person is recruited, they are indeed the best person for the job. For it to be otherwise would be unfair on the candidate and unfair on all other disabled people in society generally, let alone other candidates, the employer and their co-workers.