"Unlocking the potential of Person with Disabilities during Lockdown by IT & BPO Industries"

Abstract

“Persons with disabilities (PwDS) are particularly prone to the rigours of disasters. It is our social responsibility to acknowledge and comprehend their needs….and make response mechanisms adequate and inclusive.”  - The Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2019) PwD face multiple challenges to survive. No way, Covid 19 and its impact was a welcome move in India. Its impact and suffering is wider in nature and disappointing in concern.  It has badly impacted on lives, businesses, and employment. The Covid 19 has brought all together the different future of work. As many industries recorded the severe losses in their businesses on the other hand, it may have brought some positive steps for some workers with disabilities to make them work from home easier and acceptable. As we all aware that pandemic has shaken the traditional work structures and forcing the employers to redraft their organization policies to make their staff more productive and regular. It is helping an organization to broaden their workplace accommodation. According to census 2011, 26.8 million people in India were categorized as “Person with Disabilities (PwD) which means 2.21 % are under this category. 15.7 million were in the age group of 15-59 years i.e. which is considered the official age for participation in the workforce. Among these, around one third (5.8 million) were employed as main workers, of which less than 20 % were women. The rest are marginal workers, or seasonal employees. Before pandemic, Compared to people without disabilities, people with disabilities (PwDs) have very poor participation in labour force which results in their unemployment, underemployment, and lower wages earned and lower educational attainments. However, it is stated in various research that PwDs find it difficult to travel and reasonable work accommodation is a crucial factor for their employment, the work from home option may be beneficial for them and helps to unlikely reduce wage gaps between person with and without disabilities. The purpose of this study is to assess whether Covid 19 impacted to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities and offer them suitable workplace accommodation to perform their task effectively in IT & BPO Industry. It will also highlight some of the practices adopted by companies in ensuring the inclusion, safety and well-being of PwD during the pandemic and changes adapted by organization towards their employment.  The significance of the study is to list ways to strengthen the inclusion agenda. Other companies may find this study relevant to adopt, replicate and scale up some of the practices mentioned in this research to create a more inclusive and diverse workforce. The research methodology will be based on quality content analysis of published primary and secondary reports of company and governments to analyze unlocking the potential of people with disabilities during Covid 19.