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Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  How India Inc is rethinking inclusion during the pandemic
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How India Inc is rethinking inclusion during the pandemic

For people who work in the corporate sector and are differently abled, working from home has been a blessing since they don’t have to commute. What’s more, they are learning to use technology effectively to get their work done.

Photo: iStockPremium
Photo: iStock

Over the past few months, the visually impaired employees of Softtech and Accessibility Solutions have been practising how to do videoconference meetings. “While celebrating someone’s birthday or any other special occasion, everyone turns on their camera and continues the banter. It will help them learn how to position their camera, their chair," explains Siddhant Chothe, the tech company’s co-founder. The aim is to eventually make employees comfortable doing client meets on video calls. “It’s for the client’s benefit. I feel my colleagues will also gain confidence. It may lead to a better rapport," says Chothe, who’s visually impaired.

For people who work in the corporate sector and are differently abled, working from home has been a blessing since they don’t have to commute. What’s more, they are learning to use technology effectively to get their work done. Organizations, too, are finding different ways to support them by incorporating changes to software and systems to incorporate their needs.

When Jeevan Anupalli, senior designer (accessibility), at Walmart Global Tech India, had to do a mandatory compliance training, he found that the software the company had procured was not very accessible. He’s visually impaired, and found the drag and drop interaction challenging. “The organization was welcoming when I gave my inputs to improve it. Also, if there is an issue with some internal application, my teammates and the IT team are very helpful," says Bengaluru-based Anupalli.

The move to digital communication has helped many differently abled people. Ganesh S., an installation engineer at Alstrom Group and who is hearing impaired, says that since presentations have moved to Microsoft Teams, which has a live-caption feature, he’s able to comprehend and contribute more during meetings.

Chandrima Kirtonia, senior executive at Mahindra Logistics, on the other hand, is still getting used to remote working. She has cerebral palsy and says she can’t multitask. “I can’t memorize things. I need to understand the core of why we are doing something in a certain way. And not everyone has that much time to clarify all this over phone. But my team has been very understanding," she says.

According to Nayantara Janardhan, programme manager at EnAble India, a non-profit that works towards economic independence and dignity of people with disability, organizations in India are increasingly focusing on their diversity and inclusion policies during this pandemic. “It’s been heartening to see organizations wanting to create an inclusive environment in these uncertain times," she says. Of the current 20 organizations where live engagements are ongoing at present, 30% came on board after March, she informs.

“Despite a hiring freeze, in the last two to three months, we have noticed companies hiring PwDs (people with disabilities) and creating longer term inclusive hiring targets," says Sarbani Chakravarty, head of CII’s India Business and Disability Network. The initiatives, though, are largely limited to multinationals, she adds.

Nonetheless, work from home may open up more opportunities for differently abled people. V-shesh, a tech solutions company that enables employers to train employees with intellectual disabilities using audio-video prompts via its MyDost app, has seen demand expand beyond hospitality and retail to logistics and fast-food industries.

Open to all

Organizations are also being conscious of making their engagement activities inclusive. Fayaz Pasha, senior analyst, Advanced Technology Centers in India, Accenture, and his team have been selecting activities in which he can actively participate. “While designing events, my team picks activities that I would be comfortable with. For example, antakshari, which is an auditory game, and story-building sessions," says Pasha, who is visually impaired.

When it comes to working towards inclusivity, it’s been a continuous learning journey for firms. BarrierBreak, a digital accessibility testing and consulting platform, where 70% of the employees are differently abled, faced challenges while organizing inclusive fun activities. “We soon realized that for certain activities, like taking selfie, people with visual impairment were not comfortable. Hearing impaired weren’t interested in oral performances despite having interpreters, as they couldn’t participate. In a physical format, you will still be part of it, but virtually, people had preferences. We realized we had to make activities as inclusive as possible but at the same time, not feel bad if certain groups didn’t attend," says chief executive Shilpi Kapoor.

Dinesh Kaushal, who works at a Gurugram IT company and is part of its disability inclusion initiative, says sometimes one solution may be good for one disability but may not work for another. So, he adds, it’s necessary for differently abled employees to be proactive. “In my company, whenever we talk about challenges, everybody pays attention. Companies cannot fix everything but if they are willing to listen to what we are saying, that’s a good start," says Kaushal, who’s visually impaired.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rashmi Menon
"Rashmi Menon writes on diverse topics and is beat-agnostic. But you will find her mostly covering the intersection between work and life, trends in workplaces, profiles of business leaders, tech and culture, environment and lifestyle for Mint Lounge. She is based in Mumbai. "
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Published: 04 Dec 2020, 05:40 AM IST
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