Project Equal ACCESS
By Meghna Sharma,
New Delhi
mail@dqindia.com

This initiative tries to make a difference to the able disabled, and to IT employers―by highlighting the untapped talent.  First steps: CEO meets in Delhi and Bangalore.

There are many talented, capable people who are physically disabled, and the chances of their getting a job are abysmal.

Equal Access hopes to change that.  The project, launched by the National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and Dataquest publishers Cyber Media, has made a start with sensitizing employers to the issue―and to the talent they are missing out on when they turn a blind eye to the disabled.

The first Equal Access steps were two high-profile round table meetings in Delhi and Bangalore, involving the chief ministers and top infotech CEOs.  The New Delhi meeting in September 2000 included CM Sheila Dixit, and the Bangalore breakfast meeting in January 2001 was at chief minister SM Krishna’s house.  CEOs of leading IT companies got together to discuss the issue of creating equal opportunities for the handicapped.

What emerged from these conferences was that the IT industry could provide ample employment opportunities for the disabled: about a fifth of the jobs are not impeded by most physical disabilities.  Companies need more disability-friendly policies and the office environment needs to be sensitized to the issue.

The project’s next step is a web site run by Cyber Media.  The Equal Access site, www.cioljobs.com/equalaccess, provides a platform for the disabled to be employed by the IT industry.  It lists jobs opportunities for the disabled, at no change to employee or employer.  It also lists links to aid organizations guidelines and resources, and other IT media coverage of the disability issue.

Mala Bhargava, Computers@Home’s executive editor who has been actively involved in the project points, says it’s important to understand that the project is about equal opportunity and unused talent, and not about charity.  “Equal Access is not about throwing a few crumbs of society’s bountiful tables to the less privileged,” she says.  “It’s about tapping a wealth of existing talent.”

Enabling Equal Access

CEOs who attended the Equal Access Meet agreed that there was a need to:

§         Create awareness about the issue.

§         Develop a model for becoming a disabled-friendly company including sensitization, accessibility and HR policies.

§         Provide assistive technologies.

§         Provide special training for people with disabilities.

The government of Delhi and Karnataka promised to consider:

§         Setting up a cell for disabled people in the IT department.

§         Providing accessibility features for software parks (STPs).

§         Creating specialised IT training institutions for disabled people.

§         Providing tax rebates for disabled-friendly companies.

Several participating companies responded immediately:

§         Philips Medical Systems (software division) decided to include “equal opportunity for the disabled” in its recruitment ads.

§         Microsoft said it would work to ensure that a part of the Bill Gate’s donation to the rural sector would be used for institutions working on disability.

§         BT pledged to collate and disseminate information on disability-friendly telecom products.

For the proposed Special Training Institution:

§         Cisco agreed to provide networking equipment.

§         SGI said it would provide hardware.

§         E-gurucool.com offered the educational expertise.

§         HOPE offered to hire disabled drafting professionals if it is could provide training.

Source: DATAQUEST
Dated April 30, 2001