The Leading News & Information Service For The Facilities, Workplace & Built Environment Community

International Day of People with Disabilities – How Can FMs Get Involved?

International Day of People with Disabilities – How Can FMs Get Involved?
03 December 2021
 

On The UN International Day of People with Disabilities, how can FMs use their influence to promote the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities?

More than one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world's population, live with some form of disability. Facilities and workplace managers have huge influence in creating an inclusive working world for employees and visitors with disabilities. As their role involves contact with such a wide breadth of people, from stakeholders, supply chain, employees and clients, FMs are also best placed to be visible and vocal allies to people with disabilities.

Let’s take a look at what resources are available for facilities managers in this area:

 

Watch the Video


 

Reducing Inequalities Through Technologies: A Perspective on Disability Inclusive Development

 

A virtual event, co-organised by United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the International Telecommunications Union, will share insights on how assistive technology can and should complement universal design.

Ranging from simple devices to more complex technologies such as assistive robots or gesture or emotion recognition software, assistive technologies are not just game-changers for persons with disabilities but, with an increasingly ageing population, many older persons can also benefit.

The event aims to promote understanding of the workings of the assistive technologies industry and select initiatives by members of the UN family.

The event will be broadcast on December 3, 2021 - 8:00 to 9:30 am NY Time (GMT-5) and a recording will be available afterwards.

 

Championing Disability Employee Resource Groups

 

Many large companies will have a company disability-focused ERG group, to develop effective strategies and tools to enable its members to bring their whole selves to work.

For SMEs, self-employed people, or anyone looking to set up a disability ERG, PurpleSpace will publish a series of global conversations between CEOs and employees with disabilities.

“Leader to Leader” was inspired by a conversation we recorded between Alia Cooper (global co-chair of the Ability ERG) and Ian Stuart (UK CEO) from HSBC, and you can check out a short snippet here.

PurpleSpace, the world's only professional development hub for disability network leaders, is inviting every organisation with a disability ERG to record conversations between network leaders and CEOs.

 

Image

Pictyre: a photograph of PurpleSpace and PurpleLightUp logos 

 

Joining the “Leader to Leader” conversation provides organisations from across the public, private and NGO sectors with the perfect platform to celebrate the economic contribution of employees with disabilities and shine a light on the work of those who are making the most extraordinary contribution to cultural change, the disability ERG/Network leaders.

These videos will provide insights into why learning directly from employees with disabilities is such a powerful vehicle for cultural change.

Look out for #PurpleLightUp and #L2L on social media on December 3.

Picture: a photograph of three people seated in a meeting. One of the people is using a mobility scooter. Image Credit: Disability In

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 03 December 2021

Share



Related Articles

Sodexo Re-Accredited as Disability Confident Leader

Sodexo has had its leader status in the UK Government's Disability Confident scheme re-accredited for a further three years. The Disability Confident scheme...

 Read Full Article
Premier Inn Apologises to Paralympic Swimmer After Lift Outage

Paralympian Ellie Challis and her father were unable to access their Premier Inn hotel room due to a broken lift. As reported by the BBC, Ellie Challis, a Paralympic...

 Read Full Article
Disability Pride Month – The Business Case for Equality

July marks Disability Pride Month, an international event that shines a light on physical, learning, hidden disabilities and mental health conditions, enabling open...

 Read Full Article
UK Government Launches Strategy to Address Disability Employment Gap

Boris Johnson has launched a new National Disability Strategy, including plans to consult on disability workforce reporting for businesses with more than 250...

 Read Full Article
Accessibility and Our Cities – Why is This Relevant to Inclusion?

How is the erosion of the traditional high street impacting access and inclusion in our cities? Whilst much is being written about how socially distanced,...

 Read Full Article
CIPD Champions Menopause Friendly Workplaces

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is collaborating with Helen Tomlinson, the UK government’s first Menopause Employment Champion, to champion...

 Read Full Article
UK Government Introduces Day-One Right to Request Flexible Working

Millions of employees across the country are set to benefit from new legislation that means flexible working can be requested from the first day of employment. The...

 Read Full Article
New Built Environment Design Standard Addresses Neurodiversity Inequality

A new building design standard has been created to ensure that the built environment is accessible to both people with physical disabilities and neurodivergent people...

 Read Full Article
EMCOR Named as Disability Confident Employer

EMCOR UK has achieved “employer” status through the government’s Disability Confident scheme. The scheme has three defined levels, and Disability...

 Read Full Article
World Breastfeeding Week – How to Provide a Supportive Work Space

On World Breastfeeding Week, ThisWeekinFM looks at how to create a work environment suitable for breastfeeding and what is required by law in this area. Officially...

 Read Full Article