Why you should be hiring disabled people
34-year-old Miriam Wawira Njeru is a customer care executive for Safaricom. But her journey to employment hasn't always been easy. She has had to overcome stigma and discrimination around her disability.
Building an inclusive workplace can improve morale and workplace culture. It sends an important message about your company's values. Inclusion creates a more accepting and supportive workplace for all employees.
Miriam Wawira Njeru
Before joining Safaricom, Miriam worked as a house-help, a hawker on the streets of Nairobi and as an agent for an electronic mobile money service. She was determined to live an independent life.
My employment experience
"I never allowed my disability to limit my hard work or dictate the circumstances of my life," she says. "I applied for so many jobs, was called for interviews, but most employers only saw my disability. No one could believe I could use my legs to operate a computer comfortably.
"Employers can improve when it comes to hiring and working with people with disabilities, both visible and invisible. Sometimes accommodations need to be changed to fit a particular situation. Colleagues and employers don't always understand. Most companies are not disability friendly."
Reasonable adjustments
"For example, interview panels can overlook the need for sign language interpreters for deaf candidates. Or companies might schedule an interview on the fourth floor of a building with no lift for a wheelchair-user.
"There is a tremendous amount of diversity in the disabled community. Two people with the same disability can have radically different ways of addressing things. Employers sometimes fail to work with each person on an individual basis. Not all employers were willing to make reasonable changes for me."
But at Safaricom things have been different.
Why Safaricom are getting it right
"My workstation was customised to enable me to work comfortably. Transport [was provided] to make it easy to go to work," Miriam, 34, adds. "Having no arms made my employer realise I needed more help. A personal assistant was employed, which made me feel empowered to live a normal life in the company."
Safaricom is just one of the companies Leonard Cheshire's Innovation to Inclusion (i2i) programme has been working within Kenya.
i2i has been working closely with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) and Fuzu, an online career services and advice platform. Together, they are committed to creating inclusive employment opportunities in Kenya.
Working with different businesses
A major initiative is the NCPWD Career Portal. It is an online space for people with disabilities to get career advice, access training and be matched with jobs.
"It supports people with disabilities to improve their employability skills," says Miriam. "It establishes contacts with employers to develop opportunities for work experience and internship programmes and offers advice to empower people to make informed decisions about employment opportunities.
"Jobseekers with disabilities in Kenya are often not employed because they don't have access to job opportunities. Employers don't know how to find them. And if they do, they don't know how to deal with an employee who has a certain type of disability."
i2i has also set up the Kenya Business & Disability Network (KBDN) with the International Labour Organization and the Federation of Kenyan Employers (FKE).
The benefits of hiring disabled people
"Companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting people with disabilities have outperformed their peers," says Miriam.
"Training and events in the workplace should be completely accessible. Always use inclusive language. Have physically accessible premises. Provide information in accessible formats: braille, large text, or in audio formats."
Her message for job seekers and employees with disabilities is simple.
"Concentrate on things your disability doesn't prevent you doing well. Don't be disabled in spirit as well as physically. Disability is a matter of perception."