Enabling India by Employing Persons with Disabilities

The State of Disability in India

Many people might be surprised to discover that persons with disabilities (PwDs) comprise the world’s largest minority group. Over 65 million PwDs live in India alone and, unfortunately, the total number of individuals, as a percentage of the population, is known to be rising.

A number of social organizations exist to serve, empower, and protect people with disabilities. These disabled persons organizations vary widely. Some cater to a specific sub-set of the disabled population, such as the visually impaired, while others strive to accomplish very specific goals related to education, social inclusion, employment etc. To me, the diversity among these organizations reflects the non-discriminatory nature of disabilities as a whole – Disability is not confined to a specific gender, age, geography or income.  Disability affects the rich and the poor alike; though, to be fair, poverty has been cited as one of the leading causes of disability because of those in poverty are more likely to experience nutrient-deficient conditions and harsher work environments.

Employing Disabled Persons In Karnataka

The focus of my work pertains to the empowered employment of PwDs, for all different impairment backgrounds. Again: Over 65 million PwDs live in India. These are people who deserve the right to work and are capable of doing so!

Most PwDs remain unemployed. In fact, only 34.5 % of PwDs were employed in some capacity in 2012!! (Source). According to the FICCI, employment rates of PwDs fell from 1991 to 2002. So, I must be honest: The state of employment for PwDs in India is a little unsettling. Under current Indian policy (the 1995 PWD Act), private organizations are not required to, or even given noteworthy incentives for, employing PwDs. Many private firms still hesitate to hire PwDs. In short, some organizations are unsure what PwDs can and cannot do, they fear loss of profit and disturbances to their existing work teams, or are concerned with issues of liability, among many other things.

Despite such reservations, some corporate companies (especially those with large or international operations) are beginning include PwD employment as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) plans. Luckily, organizations like EnAble India are helping to close the gap between PwDs and their prospective employers so that both parties benefit.

EnAble India

EnAble India, founded in 1999, is non-profit organization which provides skill development and training for PwDs who seek meaningful employment opportunities. Unlike many NGOs in the disability sector, Enable India offers a wide-variety of training programs; their work spans the spectrum of impairment types and job profiles.

Enable India breaks down barriers such as fear, uncertainty, and unintentional ignorance. It is fear that prevents some organizations from offering jobs to qualified persons with disabilities. Ignorance is what keeps Naukri.com, “India’s No. 1 Job Site,” inaccessible to visually impaired job seekers, even when they are trained and specialized to perform well in a given position.

Employers are not the only ones who are fearful or uncertain. PwDs have their own reservations but with a little training these, too can be broken…. Spend just one second inside their office and you, too will know this to be true.  I will give more details about the candidates or “beneficiaries” in my next post, so stay tuned!!!

(Yes, that was my attempt at a cliff hanger).