Over 1 billion people, or about 15% of the world’s population, are estimated to live with some form of disability, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In India, people living with disabilities make up around 2.21% of the country’s population. The total number of people living with a disability is increasing all over the world due to ageing populations and an increase in chronic health conditions.
Despite their large number, persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable group of society as they face many economic and social barriers. It prevents them from fully participating in economic and societal activities.
In economic activities and in the workplace, persons with disabilities possess a lot of potential comparable to those without disabilities. However, in global workplaces, including in India, their capabilities and potential often overshadowed by their disabilities, with many still experiencing
discrimination, stigmatisation, and erroneous association with dependence and helplessness.
Taking notice of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities, the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) partnered with Christoffel Blind Mission (CBM) India to launch an initiative focusing on creating a more inclusive workplace in India for people with disabilities. The “Inclusive Workplace” initiative was launched on 12 March 2021 on a webinar titled “Workplace Inclusion for Inclusive Development: Harnessing the Potential of People with Disabilities”.
The launch event was inaugurated by K.Vikram Simha Rao, Director - Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities,Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. Mr. Rao highlighted the need for greater inclusion of people with disabilities and appreciated the “Inclusive
Workplace for People with Disabilities” initiative launched by the IGCC and CBM India.
The launch event opening remarks by Sonia Prashar, Dy. Director General of Sara Varughese, Director of CBM India, and Dr. Bernd Schramm, Project Coordinator of Inclusion of People with Disabilities, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Each partner representatives provided opening remarks where they expressed a united message of the necessity of creating a more inclusive environment to achieve sustainable development.
Within the launch event, two prominent speakers shared their perspectives on the inclusion of people with disabilities. Renowned speaker and internationallyacclaimed author Susan Scott-Parker OBE, Founder of business disability international, provided insights on how people can better understand disabilities and address common misapprehensions about disabilities. She expressed the need to see people beyond their disabilities and to focus more on them as individuals.
Ravindra Singh, CEO of Sector Skill Council for Persons with Disabilities, spoke during the event about how matching the skills of persons with disabilities with the needs of the industry can be easily achieved. He expressed the need for communication, learning and understanding barriers to be removed as well as provide skilling to overcome the challenges faced by the PwDs in society.
The event was also joined by Akshay Magadu, an Advisor from NITI Aayog, the policy think tank of the Government of India. He delivered an overview of the situation of people with disabilities in India and the challenges they face in society and the workplace, with a special focus on providing greater access to healthcare and education for people with disabilities.
The “Inclusive Workplace” initiative for people with disabilities is conducted within a Project in cooperation with the Business Scouts for Development programme funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). To view the live recording of the session, click here: https://bit.ly/3pdKQs0
