Accessibility in action: Key strategies to implement PwD inclusion at the workplace

As organisations examine their practices for disability inclusion, a change in hiring practices and creating the right company culture is bound to make a significant difference

- Asmaani Kumar

A great many people live with disabilities of some kind. But they don’t always have the opportunity to work with those disabilities, often because employers misunderstand the nature of their needs and are reluctant to include them in the workforce.

“According to a 2021 report from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, there are nearly 472 million persons with disabilities within the APAC region. Additionally, a global study by Skill-soft found that while 89% of people want their organisation to be inclusive to those with intellectual disabilities, only 29% expressed no concerns about hiring someone with an intellectual disability. Closer to Asia Pacific, a 2020 Kantar survey commissioned by Special Olympics Asia Pacific found that while 81% of people surveyed across seven Asia Pacific countries felt that PWIDs are able to work in a paid position, 60% perceive them to need a lot of help in the workplace,” said Dipak Natali, President & Managing Director, Special Olympics Asia Pacific in a exclusive interaction with People Matters.

Citing how these numbers point out the challenges that continue to remain in the disability inclusion landscape at the workplace across APAC, Jaya Virwani, EY GDS Ethics and Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness leader said, “There’s so much work still to be done.”