Founder-Executive Director Nidhi Goyal was a speaker at the Godrej HR Conclave on February 18, 2021. She presented on the importance of disability inclusion at workplaces.
Her presentation covered many things from unemployment to strengthening the labour force’s diversity. She shared facts such as: Unemployment rate for Persons with Disabilities is 64% whereas 22.8% of the disabled population is in the labour force. A critical talent pool is being underutilised, as shown by these figures. There is a lack of understanding of the scope of talents available, their potential benefits and misconceptions about the cost v/s the Return on Investment (ROI) of disability inclusion.
She also spoke about how inclusion is necessary for labour force diversity, increased innovation, improved productivity and higher revenue and profits. She added that it is imperative to rethink our corporate culture and values. More inclusion will also lead to a larger consumer pool and a boost to GDP.
She addressed the need for corporates to reflect on universal accessibility and the principle of ‘needed by one, useful for all’ as the way to go forward. She drew the attention of the group to reasonable accommodation, which needs to be a part of the goals every company moves towards.
Finally, she spoke about how covid has made all sectors question the scope and possibilities of remote working. She finished by asking: Does it make sense to go back to working the way we used to, when the possibility of a digital workspace is open to us?