Ensuring disabled people can contribute to business success

In this blog, Susan Scott-Parker of business disability international (bdi) discusses the trends that are driving the need for global business to respond more consistently to the one billion people with disabilities worldwide – as their customers, their colleagues and their potential colleagues.

I think it’s exciting to see ETI encouraging its members to take a fresh approach to enabling the contribution of disabled people to business success. And the statistics show just how important that contribution could be.

The World Health Organisation estimates that at least 15 per cent of the population in any country will have a disability which results in economic and social disadvantage. And the fact that 1 in 3 aged 50-64 will be disabled is of particular relevance as the world’s population ages.

More than 160 countries have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons, which in turn is transforming expectations.

Enhancing a company’s disability performance inevitably benefits the business as well as its community and economy

bdi was jointly founded by Barclays, GSK and Infosys. They realised that enhancing any company’s disability performance inevitably benefits the business as well as the communities and economies in which they operate.

A crucial insight has been that corporate disability expertise improves the experience for older customers, including the many who would never describe themselves as ‘disabled’.

Barclays, for example, are publicly committed to becoming the most accessible bank, in the knowledge that removing barriers for disabled and older customers enhances the experience of every customer. And in the knowledge that their employees are also their customers.

Yet global companies encounter not just inconsistent but often contradictory disability legislation and messaging as they look around the world. Our job at bdi is to help global HQs lift above this confusion and deliver the corporate best practice we brand ‘disability confidence’. Because it is only best practice which transforms legal obligation to business benefit.

A 'disability confident' corporation will:

• Understand how disability affects the entire business.
• Remove obstacles which prevent groups of people from contributing.
• Be willing and able to make the adjustments which enable individuals.
• Not make assumptions about human potential on the basis of a label.

Treat people fairly by treating them differently

We have learned that we treat people fairly by treating them differently and that this benefits the business. We have also learned that the best way to identify the many needless and often discriminatory obstacles, is by learning directly from disabled people. However, the biggest obstacle of all remains the widespread ‘soft bigotry of low expectations’.

Low expectations not just of people with disabilities but of employers. Low expectations reinforced by so many deep rooted assumptions and stereotypes and lack of personal contact.

Here’s a recent classic comment from an HR director in a giant global corporation:

“But Blind People can’t use the internet – so why should our recruitment process be accessible?”

The truth is, that director has never seen a blind person try to use the internet. The director has nothing against blind people as such but just assumes the internet requires sight.

That assumption of course then makes it very unlikely that the director will ever meet the blind graduate who could have proved that blind people do in fact use the internet.

Because the graduate can’t apply for a job in the director’s company.

Delivering on a public commitment not to discriminate against people with disabilities

As ETI members begin to ask how to start to deliver on their public commitment not to discriminate against people with disabilities, I would like to make two suggestions. 

Why not join bdi and help us to make it easier for any global HQ to communicate what fair and reasonable treatment looks like, as they learn how to enable everyone’s access, productivity and potential – including blind graduates. And help us to make it easier to encourage your global suppliers to do the same.

And why not start a different conversation with people with disabilities as you ask them to describe the journeys they take, in any given country, as they seek to find work, keep their jobs when they become disabled, and access goods and services.

Then, with their advice, begin to remove the discriminatory and counterproductive obstacles in your control, while encouraging governments and others to remove the obstacles that remain with them.

We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with ETI and its members as we start a fresh conversation between business and people with disabilities. A conversation which challenges outdated assumptions on all sides – and opens the way to innovation, business improvement and enhanced life chances for everyone.