New challenges, higher possibilities

Disability has been regarded a serious issue as they are considered as persons who are regarded to be objects of charity and not as individuals who are capable of change.

Over the years several places of work have included persons with disabilities but the progress is slow. And, irrespective of the commitments, hardly one per cent of persons with disabilities are employed by companies in India.

More than a third of survey respondents with disabilities say they have experienced negative bias while working at their current companies—and the more visible the disability, the more likely the bias. Whether intentionally or not, people exclude their colleagues with disabilities by misjudging them and underestimating their intelligence, insulting them, avoiding them, or making them feel uncomfortable by staring at them or refusing to come in to direct contact with the person.

Employees with disabilities usually are identified having strengths such as persistence, discipline, and the willingness to commit, but lack an opportunity to prove their potential.

It is high time now to see disability in a different perspective and find ways to enable them prove themselves by allowing them to portray their skills and abilities to the best of their ability.

To do this employers could.

• Provide training. Many new employees with disabilities need support to get up to speed, but their colleagues and managers may lack the awareness how to help them or the patients to do so.

Therefore, Companies should ensure to   help not only individuals with disabilities, but their managers and peers as well.

• Offer leadership development opportunities to employees with disabilities. Developing unconscious bias can cause managers to overlook people with disabilities for leadership programs. To avoid this, managers could create development opportunities specifically targeted toward these individuals and include them in opportunities that already exist.

By doing this, persons with disabilities are able to acquire the required leadership skills and boost their confidence.

• Provide role models. It is yet but natural that every individual looks up to once role model for guidance and encouragement.

Likewise even persons with disabilities could become better leaders if they are provided with a role model faced with the same situation. This would help them no bounds.

(Source: hbr.org)

Disability Entrepreneurship And Leadership (DEAL) Foundation) actively works across the districts of Gadag and Bengaluru to promote sustainable livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities.

As the name suggests, we actively involved in providing assistance to the people we work with to horn their leadership skills as we firmly believe leaders are made not born.

To do this, we impart training on how to acquire leadership skills and why it is important to lead in our own right.

We also promote awareness among educational institutions, corporates and other places of work to provide opportunities for persons with disabilities to prove themselves and offer the position they deserve, not out of sympathy.

For specific questions regarding the blog please write to us at info@deal-foundation.com.

And to know more about the work we do, log on to www.deal-foundation.com.