The Business Case for Disability
Globalization has accelerated and reinforced the need to enhance diversity. A highly significant element of the diversity debate often overlooked is disability. As per ILO there are approximately 610 million disabled persons in the world, of which 316 million are of working age, making a large and growing proportion of employees, existing and potential customers, stakeholders and shareholders. In addition by the year 2010 approximately 27 percent of the world population will be over 45 - the age at which the incidence of disability begins to increase significantly.
In India according to the National Survey of 1991, there were approximately 16 million people with visual impairment, hearing impairment and locomotor disabilities in that year, constituting about 1.9 percent of the population. The estimated number of persons with disabilities who were working in 1991 constituted 4.52 million leaving 0.08 million (1.7%) unemployed. Exclusion of disabled people from the workplace has a negative impact on individuals, places a financial cost on society, a taxation burden on business and hence affects profitability and competitiveness.
The business case of employing disabled people is therefore compelling, it is a strategic issue, risk and opportunity for every business. The Persons with Disability Act 1995 has adopted a scheme of 3 percent reservation for disabled persons in government public sector open employment, it has adopted a strategy of giving incentives to private employers for promoting employment of disabled persons in private sector. Creating an enabled business environment for disabled people is integral to any business strategy, which recognizes the need to value 'difference'.
Employers of disabled people have consistently found that:
- Disabled people develop transferable problem solving skills that are invaluable in the workplace.
- Staff morale and team development are enhanced when business are seen to be good employers of people with disabilities.
- Disabled people in work tend to have better attendance, records, stay with employees longer and have fewer accidents at work.
Building an enabling environment for people with impairments is one element of a broader shift in mindset towards embracing diversity as a means of enhancing business performance. Without this underlying shift, messages regarding the business advantage of working with disabled people will simply not be heard. The challenge is therefore to present arguments that go beyond short-term cost-benefit analysis and to describe a long-term strategic case integrated into the broader diversity perspective. It is also essential to simultaneously address the ignorance and fear that currently prevent potential business benefits from being realized.
Businesses that enhance diversity will be able to:
- Access untapped reserves of talent.
- Improve operational efficiency - reduced costs, lower turnover, improved efficiency and service delivery.
- Promote new sources of ideas, creativity and problem solving.
- Build brand loyalty and distinctiveness by valuing all customers and employees as individuals.
Building an enabling business environment will require the combining force of business, government, trade unions and non-profit organizations. Business need to ensure that high level business strategies explicitly aim to realize the potential for disabled people to contribute to business performance. Companies need to systematically explore, understand and overcome deeply rooted prejudices and fears within their organization concerning disabled people and disability. Government needs to focus on overcoming ignorance and fear of disability with a particular emphasis on the education of young people. It needs to monitor the impact of national legislation for both disabled people and business. Non-profit organizations need to understand the needs of business and enhance their capacity to support disabled people into work. They need to establish with business, disability relevant performance measures in social accountability and other quality assurance standards. Non-profit organizations can also actively empower disabled people as leaders, spokespeople and entrepreneurs through confidence building sessions.
The successful companies, civil society and government equivalents mobilize expertise which enables them to play an active role in moulding the complex dynamic role around them. Disability is a part of this equation of success. Organizations which have the insight, the will and the competencies engage with the diverse and growing population will gain from a competitive edge through access to increased spending power, a pool of skills and talents and the support of disabled people as shareholders and voters. These organizations will furthermore benefit from the support of the relatives, colleagues, friends and careers of disabled people who will respond in the market place to the ways in which disabled people are treated by particular companies and by the business community as a whole. Such a pathway will also benefit society more generally, and so help to build a virtuous cycle that better balances social cohesion with economic competitiveness.
Source: Simon Zadek & Susan Scott-Parker, 2001, Employers' Forum on Disability
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