Why women with disabilities need to be at front of employment opportunities

The daughter of a daily wage worker 29yearold Shabana Khan was born without upper limbs Hailing from Haryana her family consists of seven members with her father as a sole bread earnerShabana being the eldest of her siblings always wanted to support her family but faced disappointments owing to her conditionHaving the dream to work in the formal sector she applied to several businesses however nothing worked out in her favour due to her disability and lack of communication skills Now Shabana has found a reason to be happy With a glimmer in her eyes and a wide smilemdashshe says ldquoI am now employedrdquoHowever crossing this barrier was not easy for her and continues to be a dream for several women with disabilities like herself shares America India Foundation who equipped her with training to become jobreadyAccording to the Census 2011 there are 26 million people with disabilities in India and among them 11 million were found to be women with disabilitiesPeople with disabilities face many hurdles in their fight for inclusion and equality Although both men and women with disabilities are subjected to discrimination it is the latter who are at a further disadvantage Women with disabilities face ldquodouble discriminationrdquo given that these women are subjected to not just disability limitations but also gender oppressionBreaking Barriers Overcoming ObstaclesAccording to a Ministry of Statistics report on persons with disabilities nearly 64 percent of persons with disabilities in India dont have jobs and more women are unemployed compared to menThe lack of access to employment is not merely structural But also extends to instances when women with disabilities manage to get employedFrom a gender perspective men with disabilities are almost twice as likely to have jobs than women with disabilities When women with disabilities work they often experience unequal hiring and promotion standards unequal access to training and retraining unequal access to credit and other productive resources unequal pay for equal work and occupational segregation and rarely participate in economic decisionmakingAlso Read Im a disabled woman therefore Im not a prospectAccording to ILO women with disabilities are at greater risk of poverty than men with disabilities Mitra et al 2011 Their poverty is linked to their minimal education and skills development opportunities Approximately 785 million women and men with disabilities are working age but most do not work When they do work they earn less than people without disabilities but further gender disparities exist Women with disabilities earn less than men with disabilitiesEmployment for women with disabilities is a strategic advantage to businesses and the gap in this market can be bridged through skill development and trainingThrough a mobilisation drive by America India Foundation in Delhi Shabana was provided with the required training and placed into a data entry job role It is an AAAcertified accessible job portal catering to remote and inclusive employment for PwDs Linked to Divyangjan Rojgar Setu PM Daksh Portal this portal is poised to serve 10 million PwDs across IndiaShabana Khan says ldquoI have a newfound confidence in me getting trained and hired I can easily step out of the house and do everything by myself I loved embroidery sketching painting and stitching but through the training I also learnt to use the keyboard with my feet and now I can support my familyrdquoWith an aim to double the number of Persons with Disabilities PwDs engaged in formal sector employment and strengthening the entrepreneurial landscape AIF unveiledDIverse a groundbreaking initiativeDIverse is dedicated to transforming workplaces into inclusive environments committed to the social and financial advancement of PwDs It is an offshoot of AIFrsquos leading program Ability Based Livelihood Empowerment ABLE which has trained over 18000 PwDs and provided jobs to 10000 candidates through partnerships with 1800 inclusive employersldquoHelping persons with disabilities find their career paths and gain income opportunities has been one of the big focus areas for American India Foundation Training PwDs and identifying job opportunities is not just a step towards inclusion but a strategic advantage for the businessesrdquo Mr Kamesh Sanghi Director of Livelihoods AIF mentionedIn India where there are 268 million people with disabilities the women population still face challenges However amidst the statistics lies a compelling story of progress embodied by trailblazers like ShabanaGovernment of India provides many opportunities in terms of education and employment to persons with disabilities Particularly the Rights of Persons with Disability RPWD Act 2016 provides for 4 percent reservation in employment in the establishments of the Government of India State Governments and Public Sector Undertakings against identified posts for disabled populationAlso Read Meet Mumbais young slum champions transforming lives