An Irish woman who is diagnosed with ocular albinism, has set up The Valuable 500 to end workplace discrimination based on disability. Aiming to get 500 leading corporate businesses to sign up to her campaign of disability inclusion, Caroline Casey had recently visited New Delhi to participate in a disability-focused event, hosted by Brookfield Properties in association with CII IBDN and Enable India. She says,
“I set up The Valuable 500 with a simple mission – to urge corporates across the world to commit to the cause of disability inclusion. I wanted to challenge influential companies and corporates and send this message that disability should not and cannot be at the shores of Diversity & Inclusivity projects.”
Launched in Davos earlier in January, The Valuable 500 aims to get 500 international businesses to make this commitment. And in the process some of the most influential leaders associated with her campaign today include Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, and Jeff Dodds, Chief Operating Officer, Virgin Media. She has now also announced 17 leading Indian businesses, including Tatas and Mahindra, who have pledged to join The Valuable 500. India is currently seeing an increased awareness of disability inclusion as a pressing issue which businesses need to tackle. New research has found persons with disabilities form less than 0.5% of staff in India's top firms–yet between 10–15% of the Indian population live with a disability.
Perhaps, a similar comparison can be drawn to the treatment of disability in the UK's corporate sector. Disabled people continue to face prejudice in their workplace especially if the latest government figures are considered which indicate that on average people suffering from disability are paid 12.2% less than those without impairments. The disability pay gap was however, widest for people classified as having a mental impairment – defined by the ONS as depression and anxiety, mental illness, nervous disorder, epilepsy or learning disability. Various charities have also said that negative attitudes and lack of understanding of disability hold people back during hiring and recruitment process. 90% of companies claim to prioritise diversity, but only 4% include disability as part of their definition of diversity. She says
“I think there is a lack of education when it comes to disability. Most people have a stereotypical idea of the definition of disability and are therefore very quick to judge when someone they perceive as able uses resources for disabled people. But it will be interesting to note that 80% of these disabilities are invisible, and it is important that people are aware of this and think more carefully about what disability means and the impact it can have. I believe that business has the power to drive social change and so it is time businesses stand up and ensure disabled people are fully included in their organisation.”
The Conservative government promised in 2016 to halve the employment gap by helping an extra 1 million disabled people into work, although the party’s 2019 election manifesto downgrades this by committing them merely to “reduce” the disability employment gap.
The study by Office for National Statistics also found almost one in five of Britons between 16 and 64 had a disability last year, with the proportion rising from 11.9% among the youngest age group, to 31.4% among those aged 60-64.
Now, loneliness and isolation among disabled people is a critical issue, with one in four feeling lonely every day with about 26 % people admitting that they avoiding engaging in conversation with a disabled person.
In the UK apart from Case, two of the other top BAME leaders who are championing for the cause of disability inclusion are Kush Kanodia and Raj Kalia. Businesses that aren’t inclusive and don’t manage health and disability effectively are at the risk of damaging their reputation among staff and customers. They could also face legal action if they fail to comply with equalities law.
