Employers are being urged to make the necessary changes to their businesses to facilitate the hiring of persons with disabilities.
Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, made this plea as he called on Barbadian businesses to get over their biases when it comes to the disabled.
Mr. Humphrey was speaking during the opening of an Entrepreneurship Symposium for Persons with Disabilities at the Cave Hill School of Business and Management Inc. on Wednesday. It was held in conjunction with the Ministry of Energy and Business and the National Disabilities Unit.
“It is regrettable, but it is also true that the persons with disabilities are disproportionately represented in our unemployment figures. And while this has been a constant in Barbados it has to change…,” he stated.
The Minister charged that there were still employers who refused to employ persons with disabilities for a number of reasons. He noted these include the fact that there are existing protocols and structures and cultures at the organisation which do not facilitate persons with disabilities, and it was easier to keep the assets in order.
He further noted that the response to persons with disabilities, whether actual or perceived, resulted in a level of discrimination that was unacceptable in a Barbadian society.
But, the Minister contended, persons with disabilities had much to bring to the table and it was clear that they were born for business.
He added that activities like the symposium would be important going forward as they could provide regular formal employment or allow people to position themselves to become entrepreneurs.
“There is a grace under pressure [by the disabled] that I have seen that I think should be reflected throughout the public service really, as we try to get our public service up to par, and also in the private sector.
“There is a lot that I believe can be learnt by persons who are otherwise able, by just watching how people with disabilities conduct themselves. Therefore, I hope that we are able to employ persons with disabilities…,” the Minister opined.
He stressed that it was clear that something needed to be done to enable and support persons with disabilities who chose to be entrepreneurs.
However, the Minister pointed out that a number of things first needed to change, such as the absence of braille and an interpreter for the deaf at large meetings. He also highlighted the need for a fully accessible Barbados and improvements to transportation challenges for the disabled as areas to be addressed. “These things must become standard in Barbadian society,” he emphasised.
Chief Business Development Officer in the Ministry of Business, Anderson Cumberbatch, said the Ministry was seeking to create an enabling business environment that would extend to people with disabilities.
The workshop was designed to enhance the capacity of persons with disabilities in starting and or developing a business, and was in response to the high unemployment levels among those affected.