Single, middle-aged, straight, white, non-disabled man wins diversity award shock..

It only occurred to me a couple of weeks after winning 2020's Business Entrepreneur category at the National Diversity Awards that as a white, middle-aged, single, straight, non-disabled bloke I might finally be part of a minority.

..and this is part of the problem.

I wasn’t able to attend this year's National Diversity Awards as I was looking after my poorly sister's farm (hence the still above from my acceptance speech), although having attended in 2019 I had a good idea of the makeup of the nominees and attendees. It will come as no surprise that the vast majority of people who win diversity awards are more often than not from the minority they represent.

I’m no stranger to working in the disability sector though having spent 18 years working for Guide Dogs for the Blind as a Mobility Instructor and then a further 7 as the Founder and CEO of Neatebox. I was acutely aware of some of the challenges disabled people face. As a Mobility Instructor, I had become frustrated by and increasingly driven to find a solution to an issue that seemed obvious to me but which was seemingly not so obvious to anyone else ie inequality in the provision of face-to-face service for disabled people. On arrival at a shop or any other venue where a disabled person is met e.g. hospital, sports center, library, etc there is an inconsistency in how they are greeted and their needs met. I understood this was a staff training issue and wanted to find a way to connect the visitor's mobile phone to the customer service team prior to and on arrival.

WelcoMe was launched into a pre COVID world in 2018 and is a simple but effective app/platform that connects disabled people directly to the staff at the venue they are visiting providing them with information on how to recognise and best to interact with their disabled guests on their arrival. This knowledge helps to remove anxiety within the staff member and helps to build confidence in the disabled visitor, encouraging repeat visits alongside a multitude of associated commercial and social benefits for all concerned.

Award won, so, what's the problem?

The problem is that there are far too few people involved in this "sector" who are seen as and promoted as allies.

Of course, the truth is that without personally affected stakeholders this movement wouldn't even exist. Disabled people have done pretty much all of the heavy lifting up to now due to apathy and a lack of engagement in the service providers. Their very real blood sweat and tears have created a foundation on which to build true equity within society and there is a real chance for progress. But without support from the rest of society and importantly directly connected allies they will be required to bleed, sweat, and cry without real progress for many years to come.

I am proud to have won an award but it means NOTHING if this accomplishment and the efforts of many other allies are not seen and embraced as an important next step. Not as leaders but as key supporters. Indeed without allies, no movement, wanting to achieve anything beyond a foundation can do it alone and surely, as proved in so many other areas ie BLM, Apartheid, gender issues, and sexual freedoms it is only when we are all prepared to demand the rights of others that we can truly call ourselves a progressive society.

So, 2022 MUST be the "year of the ally" if we are to progress disability issues, rights and freedoms.

My mission for 2022 is to keep doing what I do (but better) and it is also to support those I see as allies, promote them and encourage even more to get on board, and then perhaps one day we will all be a part of a majority who want the world to be a better place for each other.

Right, let's have you 2022.

.gavin.