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I truly believe that the vast majority of tech firms want to do a better job of supporting workers with diverse needs. DEI initiatives are proliferating across our sector, and not before time.
But when it comes to disability, we are still a long way from true representation.
I’m glad that we’re making progress. In the U.S. for example, VMware’s self-identification rate of employees with disabilities is 3.2%, up from 1.8% in 2019. But that’s far short of the U.S. population-wide figure of 18%.
Today, on the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, it’s time for all of us to ask what we can do to increase the rate of change.
The answer, I believe, is to fundamentally re-frame the way we think about disability in tech.
Inclusion is, of course, a worthy goal in its own right. But bringing more people with disabilities into the workforce shouldn’t just be seen as a noble cause; it’s not something to be bestowed.
The reality is that fostering the inclusion of people with disabilities benefits everyone who works in tech – and, ultimately, gives companies a competitive advantage.
We know, for example, that firms that demonstrate leadership on disability employment and inclusion are outperforming those with more modest achievements in this area.
An Accenture study of 140 US companies participating in the Disability Equality Index found that those in the index’s top tier achieved double the net income and 30% higher economic profit margins over four years than companies ranked lower on the index.
It makes sense: companies that select staff from a larger pool of candidates are likely to enjoy superior outcomes. And as well as raw intellect, people with disabilities may have faced more barriers in life which have led to them developing exceptional grit and determination, which makes them formidable employees.
Meanwhile, end-users are increasingly demanding accessibility from the tech products and services they use.
Energy and Innovation
I think the biggest innovations in accessible tech are still to come. But I’m happy to say that VMware is already devoting considerable energy to this area.
In 2019, VMware partnered with Singapore’s Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) for an Ideas Hackathon to create an app to help the association’s students tackle the challenges of social, numeracy, and vocational skills, and to make Singapore itself more inclusive.
The winning “Connect Us” pitch aimed to provide a social networking platform for the association’s students, alumni, and potential employers to connect. Further developed by the team with assistance from VMware, it made its debut as the APSNLive app later that year at vFORUM Singapore.
The following year, in February 2020, we kicked off our first-ever Accessibility Week with a summit followed by an accessibility hackathon. Five different countries, six different business units, and nine different products were represented.
Ten concepts were developed during the hackathon, including a walk assistant application for Blind/Low …….