Employment for Everyone

Disability is getting a little bit trendy! In media and sport we’re seeing more disabled talent. In politics there's initiatives for more disabled representatives. In business the $8 trillion global disability market is garnering big business attention.

It's been amazing to see people like Richard Branson discuss the economic benefits of inclusion. Not to ignore disability featuring at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

So with clear benefits of inclusion, why are disabled people still seeing higher unemployment rates than non disabled people?

When I started looking for work 15 years ago, I was finishing my Masters in Marketing. I started looking for finance jobs, as my first degree had been in Economics. Despite these amazing educational achievements, I struggled to even get an interview. Maybe it was related to my disability. Maybe not.

After a while I widened my search. I just needed a first job. To learn the ropes, get experience, and build from there. My step-mum Kate luckily saw an advert in my hometown for an admin role. This was the turning point.

It was for the disability charity Scope. In seeking disabled talent, they eased my nerves and apprehension of further job seeking rejection. I felt empowered and confident. I sailed through the application, 2 interviews, and started straight after leaving uni.

Naturally, this didn’t mean everything was set from day 1. Being a wheelchair user, I needed some assistance from the car park to my desk. I needed some support with filing and photocopying. With personal care support and so forth.

My line manager was brilliant at going through these needs with me, finding immediate solutions, and setting in motion answers to the trickier barriers.

The Equalities Act 2010 covers disabled people from discrimination, within the constraints of 'reasonable adjustments'. For me this meant applying for Access to Work funding. Scope fortunately knew about this, but if you aren't sure you can read more here. As a result I received funding for assistive technology, for a Personal Care Assistant, and if my adapted car broke they would cover taxis too.

In overcoming the all too familiar barriers of the physical environment, people’s attitudes, and organisational policies; I was able to shine.

I enjoyed that role so much and enjoyed career development opportunities at the London head office. My dream was to live and work in London. So eventually I received a transfer and hit the big smoke.

After working hard I ended up being a diversity trainer and product development executive in fundraising. I travelled the country, met service managers, created fundraising products and supported the fundraising team.

Five years after starting, I left to pursue my other dreams of entrepreneurship and travel. Now, ten years on, I'm CEO/Co Founder of the Purple Goat agency, an author, a global speaker and inclusion activist.

Imagine if Scope never looked for disabled talent. Imagine if the office wasn’t wheelchair accessible. Imagine if Access to Work didn’t fund my reasonable adjustments. Imagine if I’d never been encouraged to develop and grow.

Barriers are everywhere. Solutions are too. I didn’t take the path I had planned to after university. But in the end I’m living and working through my passion and purpose. It just took time, patience, resilience and unwavering belief in my vision of an inclusive world. Plus a little (lot) of help from people and organisations on my way.

This article was written as part of the LinkedIn #Changemakers campaign – a campaign shining a spotlight on individuals using LinkedIn to drive genuine change in the world of work. To find out more about the partnership, read more here. And if you want to join the conversation, share the one thing you’d like to change about the world of work in a post on LinkedIn with the hashtag #ConversationsForChange.