Unlike many reading this, Rajesh Kumar Grover hates his Sundays. For him, no day is good if spent at home sitting idle. Are you bewildered? For Grover this makes sense. He feels he?s wasted too many of his productive years sitting at home. A hearing impairment problem for Grover got resolved when Ficci stepped in to find him a job at Radhnik Exports. Now he enjoys being part of the rat race we all hate. Similarly, orthopaedically-handicapped Salimuddin, who hadn?t earned a salary ever is now happy working for Guardian Pharmacy. This too is thanks to Ficci stepping in to bring some cheer into his life.?
These success stories may be India Inc?s badges of honour, but they are far too few. If one takes into consideration the figures in the World Bank report, People with Disabilities in India: From Commitments to Outcomes, launched last week, the track-record of hiring people with disabilities (PwDs) by Indian companies has worsened. The findings of the report suggest that PwDs are among the most excluded in society (the employment rates among disabled adults reduced from 43% in 1991 to 38% in 2002). In the late 1990s, employment of people with disability among large private firms was only 0.3% of their workforce. Among the MNCs, the situation is far worse, with only 0.05% being PwDs. Low literacy and employment rates, and widespread social stigma are pushing India?s 40 to 90 million disabled people, a substantial percentage of the country?s population, to further lows. Maintaining that it is not desirable or possible for the public sector to ?do it all?, the report looks forward to the support of the private sector.
For Javed Abidi, convenor, Disabled Rights Group, the report is history repeating itself. Going back to 1998 when he picked 100 top companies of Indian industry to check the status on employability, the result for him was embarrassing. ?The average of the industry then was 0.4%, with the disabled making 0.5% of the workforce in public sector companies, 0.2% in private and 0.05% in MNCs. The new report just talks about the figures worsening further. A few corporations doing well in the space (IBM and Titan) are nothing but some odd cases,? he says.
Last week, in a run up to International Disability Day (December 3), there were discussions on the inclusion policy of employers towards the disabled. The figures, which reflect the good work done by a few corporates towards PwDs, however, are small. Working on the mission to make companies better their stand on the issue, Sujit Gupta, chairman, CII Core Group on Disability knows where the gaps lie. ?I think one has to begin with figures. Out of the 40 to 90 million PwDs in India, the percentage of those employable (in the age group of 18 to 30), is a few millions. Balancing it with the opportunities surfacing in the industry, especially in sectors like IT, ITES, retail and hospitality, one is left with a demand and supply imbalance. The time is just right to recognise it and do the needful,? says the man who has a long list of recommendations for corporates to lap up. ?We expect veterans like Tata Steel and Infosys to better their PwD figures and lead others along. In today?s global scenario, we are talking about universal policies of equal opportunities and no social responsibility,? he says.
Niranjan Khatri, GM, ITC Welcomgroup, is all for the recommendation. At his hotels all over the country, employing PwDs has been a valuable input in making his entities global and futuristic. ?Till 18 months ago, when we didn?t have too many PwDs at the company, the story was a happy one. Our hotels were well-built, with every corner accessible. Only when we have people with a few medical conditions, we realise where we fail. Today, we are making changes in our existing hotels to make them accessible for all. Though there is no volte face at these structures, we advise you to wait and watch. Our upcoming projects will meet all standards to host each human being on the planet,? says Khatri, who is working stringently on PwD-accessible design elements (like different heights kept for the washbasins, etc) all across.
Working on the troika of accommodation, access and attitude, Prathima V Shetty, India diversity lead, IBM India, has been sharing the company?s success model with others. ?Much before that, one can sensitise others in the company towards the PwDs. Also, if one encourages the PwDs to join, but leaves them with no support, it isn?t of much use. Their employment is also essential to check how rigid is one?s corporate culture,? says the manager.
Biplab Majumder, MD and country manager, ABB India has gone beyond hiring. ABB?s Project Roshni is to help the differently-abled become self-employed. ?After registering good results at engaging PwDs across all of our major locations, there is no way we can look back. It?s good to see that their story has gone beyond making agarbattis and candles,? he says.
Sminu Jindal, MD, Jindal SAW too has assigned a job to herself. Her initiative in Swayam, a body working to help PwDs with accessibility, has become fighting mindsets. ?I think before a company diversifies, one must look at a diversified society. The moment we imagine a life and world with the disabled, we will make room for them automatically. Once access is put in place, we will see the disabled going to the best of colleges and corporates picking them up at campus recruitments,? she points out.
Abidi too is betting high on the positive moves of ITC and Jindal. He says: ?If this attitude prevails, and permeates our corporate culture, may be we will have some better figures next time.?
