India may be one of the biggest hubs for the IT-ITeS (Information Technology and IT-Enabled services) industry, but the employment opportunities it offers to persons with disabilities are dismal. Less than 1% of the almost 39 lakh employees in these companies are persons with disabilities.
“There are no official statistics as many corporates are reluctant to share employee information. Sample surveys have been done in the past by third party agencies, and based on these it is believed that a little less than 1% of the industry’s employees are persons with disabilities,” said Shrikant Sinha, CEO of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) Foundation. The group’s Disability Initiative encourages inclusion of persons with disabilities in the industry by sensitising the sector about employment and accessibility.
But the challenge in increasing this percentage, he said, was in finding a sufficient number of qualified candidates. “At the hiring stage, the capability of persons with disabilities in picking up work is not fully known. Infrastructure is not always compliant with the UNCRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol) norms at the school, college and corporate level. Premises are not audited and don’t align to expected standards,” Mr. Sinha said.
Most persons with disabilities are said to be hired for entry-level roles in ‘shared services’ such as finance and accounting, human resources, housekeeping and maintenance, and (software) testing.
“Availability of talent is a challenge. For persons with disabilities, career advancement sometimes poses a problem. Biases among the non-disabled staff and lack of access to technology are also challenges. Persons with disabilities, more often than not, require personality grooming and positive attitude. Many, especially those with hearing impairment, take time to settle down and build trust with co-workers,” Mr. Sinha said.
Possible game changer?
But the introduction of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which, among other things, has increased the number of disabilities from seven to 21, is being touted as a possible game changer.
“At this juncture, the IT-ITeS industry has less than 1% of its workforce made up of persons with disabilities, but this number is increasing as we speak and with the effect of the new law. Approximately 15-20% of member companies under NASSCOM are now hiring [such workers],” Mr. Sinha said. NASSCOM has 2,400 member-companies across the country.
This has also meant that some companies have recruited persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a recent trend. ASD is among the disabilities included under the new Act.
Initiatives towards grooming disabled people are also being taken up simultaneously. Recently, the NASSCOM Foundation started a pilot project in Telangana in partnership with the State government to make IT parks in Cyberabad completely accessible to persons with disabilities.
Disability Matters conference
On Friday, the best workplace initiatives and learnings will be discussed as a part of the fifth annual Disability Matters Asia Conference, which will be held in Bengaluru. This is the second time India is hosting the global event, which aims to identify the best practices followed by businesses, recognising them, and providing a platform for discussion on the strategies they can adopt to become more inclusive workplaces.
