THE UNTAPPED POWER OF THE DISABLED
CLIENT: GLASSHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS
PROJECT: THOUGHT LEADER ARTICLE
PROJECT: THOUGHT LEADER ARTICLE
The distorted vision which sees disability as a measure of intelligence or aptitude preventing a person from contributing meaningfully, and becoming a financial burden on society and the workplace is an outcome of the biggest disability of all – ignorance.
Franklin was disabled. He spent most of his adult life in a wheelchair. If he’d been South African he’d have been lucky to get a job. But he wasn’t and he became the 32nd President of the United States of America and one of the major players in world events in the mid-20th Century.
Richard Branson has dyslexia – a learning disability. With a net worth of US$5 billion, Branson is hardly a financial burden to society. Branson, like many disabled people, set himself ‘huge, apparently unachievable challenges’ and rose above them.
Magdeline Makofane, the Human Resources Business Partner of 3M, South Africa, believes, rightly, that we need people like that in the South African workplace. People with grit, determination and courage. To discount the disabled is to do them, the workplace and the country a severe disservice.
Although South African attitudes towards the disabled are changing, they’re changing too slowly. Makofane wants to accelerate the process. It’s a sad fact that discrimination against women in the workplace is still horribly prevalent in South Africa, but as a result, Makofone has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by others who are discriminated against.
Creating an inclusive society where disabled people are not blocked from participating, will, she believes, require not only government commitment at all levels but also education, both in discussion and in real-life interaction from grass roots level to company boardrooms.
Currently, Government has put in place a number of clearly defined legislations attempting to redress the imbalances disabled people struggle against. Many more are needed. Basic amenities for the disabled in schools and workplaces are a prime example. Toilets designed to fit wheelchairs, ramps, lifts, voice-based email systems for the blind, emergency evacuation procedures, care dog facilities and a mandatory workforce quota are just some of the practical requirements that need legislation.
Until South Africans come to see that disabled people can play as important a role in the development of companies and government as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Sir Richard Branson, South Africa will never reach its full potential.
One wonders who the truly disabled are; the blind or those blind to the real power of the disabled.
Franklin was disabled. He spent most of his adult life in a wheelchair. If he’d been South African he’d have been lucky to get a job. But he wasn’t and he became the 32nd President of the United States of America and one of the major players in world events in the mid-20th Century.
Richard Branson has dyslexia – a learning disability. With a net worth of US$5 billion, Branson is hardly a financial burden to society. Branson, like many disabled people, set himself ‘huge, apparently unachievable challenges’ and rose above them.
Magdeline Makofane, the Human Resources Business Partner of 3M, South Africa, believes, rightly, that we need people like that in the South African workplace. People with grit, determination and courage. To discount the disabled is to do them, the workplace and the country a severe disservice.
Although South African attitudes towards the disabled are changing, they’re changing too slowly. Makofane wants to accelerate the process. It’s a sad fact that discrimination against women in the workplace is still horribly prevalent in South Africa, but as a result, Makofone has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by others who are discriminated against.
Creating an inclusive society where disabled people are not blocked from participating, will, she believes, require not only government commitment at all levels but also education, both in discussion and in real-life interaction from grass roots level to company boardrooms.
Currently, Government has put in place a number of clearly defined legislations attempting to redress the imbalances disabled people struggle against. Many more are needed. Basic amenities for the disabled in schools and workplaces are a prime example. Toilets designed to fit wheelchairs, ramps, lifts, voice-based email systems for the blind, emergency evacuation procedures, care dog facilities and a mandatory workforce quota are just some of the practical requirements that need legislation.
Until South Africans come to see that disabled people can play as important a role in the development of companies and government as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Sir Richard Branson, South Africa will never reach its full potential.
One wonders who the truly disabled are; the blind or those blind to the real power of the disabled.
