Persons with disabilities form less than 0.5% of staff in India's top firms

A poor farmer's son who was supported by National Association for the Blind cracked the prestigious National Law University exams. Accessibility tools such as a laptop with screen-reading software helped him fulfill his potential, said Dipender Manocha, President of the Association's Delhi arm.

The lack of similar support to crores of other Indians may have contributed to the fact that the representation of persons with disabilities (PwDs) in some of India’s largest companies remains marginal. Their share is 0.46 per cent of the employee base, an analysis of listed company disclosures shows. Their share in the general population is 2.21 per cent according to the 2011 census, and may be between 10-15 per cent going by global averages. Representation for the companies under consideration has actually dropped. It was 0.47 per cent last year. (See chart 1)

Persons with disabilities form less than 0.5% of staff in India's top firmsBusiness Standard collected data from hundreds of annual reports across periods, as part of a yearly check on representation of marginalized groups and discrimination among companies forming part of the S&P BSE 100 index. The analysis looked at 68 companies for whom continuous data is available over the last three years.

The problem is not restricted to corporate entities. Employment of PwDs remains problematic across the country. Data from the 2011 census shows that the majority of PwDs are non-working in 35 out of the 36 states and union territories at the time that the data was collected. The only exception was Nagaland where 51.92 per cent of the PwD population was working. The all-India figure was 36.34 per cent. (See chart 2)

Persons with disabilities form less than 0.5% of staff in India's top firmsSome of this may be driven by a skill gap.

“There is a huge gap between the skill-set required for working in these companies versus the skill-set which is currently being developed in our education system for persons with disabilities….Their job opportunities in the private sector, due to these reasons, becomes very limited,” Manocha said.

Poverty and disability are strongly connected, and many among the PwD population are therefore not able to equip themselves with English language or skill themselves with digital tools, he said.

“When employees are productive and showing results, companies do not really worry about costs incurred,” said Srinivasu Chakravarthula, founder at ServeOM Inclusion, a firm which works on accessibility issues.

But even those that manage to land a job may face other difficulties within the workspace.

Despite the development in the field of accessibility and assistive technology, software and other technological solutions in most offices today remain inaccessible and unusable for persons with disabilities, according to Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan, Senior Fellow and Programme Director, G3ict (Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies). Globally, there is a push towards adoption of comprehensive accessibility standards such as the European procurement standard EN 301-549 and section 508 in USA which are effectively ensuring accessibility of all software, hardware, content and other technologies.

"India already has a comprehensive legal framework in place through the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 to adopt and mandate compliance with accessibility standards. The adoption of such a standard under the existing legal framework in India is long overdue and would go a long way in creating a better environment for employing of persons with disabilities," Narasimhan said.

"It’s a myth that the moment one hires disabled people it will cost a lot...(most) assistive technologies are available in open source," said Arman Ali, Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People.

A gender-wise analysis shows other contrasts. Workers among the PwD population is 36.3 per cent overall. It is 47.2 per cent for men. It is less than half this figure for women, at 22.6 per cent. (See chart 3)