Disabled shoppers now have equality in business called the ‘Purple Pound’. The Purple Pound represents the spending power of the disabled household. A disabled household is a household in which at least one of the members has a disability.
The Purple Pound here in England is equivalent to the Black Dollar in America. This is England’s way of ensuring Inclusive Marketing for the disabled population.
Organisations are missing out on the business of disabled consumers due to poor accessibility (both physical and digital) and not being disability confident in their customer services approach. Out of this came ‘The Purple Shopper’.
The Purple shopper was created to make the disabled person’s shopping experience a personal one, where stores are accessible at their convenience. No more queuing at checkouts, no over bright and loud environments.
Businesses can join this initiative and become a Purple Shopper by signing up on their website at http://www.purpleshopper.co.uk.
The Power of the Purple Pound
In the UK, it is thought that some seven million people of working age have a disability, which all adds up to an awful lot of spending power.
It is reckoned to be worth around £249 billion to the economy.
According to statistics, 75% of disabled people have left a store or website due to inaccessibility. To combat this, ‘Purple Tuesday’ came into effect.
Purple Tuesday 2020 is a change programme for organisations of all sizes from all sectors to get involved in, with the common goal of improving the customer experience for disabled people 365 days a year.
Purple Tuesday is about creating a step change improvement in the awareness of the value and needs of disabled customers. It is about making the customer experience accessible.
Participating organisations will make public commitments (a minimum of one new activity or initiative) to ensure sustainable changes are made. For organisations, this will result in the opening up of products and services to the disability market.
The Legacy International Group has launched The Purple Vote Campaign. This group was started by Sara Flay and Leighton Morris who lead a team of 15 people with various disabilities.
The Purple Vote Campaign was launched in February. This campaign was created to raise awareness about what concerns disabled people and how they can represent their constituents and to ensure that the disabled community have a voice in the democratic process which includes encouraging disabled people to vote in public committees and groups as well as communicating with their local assembly members and MPs. Purple is the colour of disability.
Elections are being held next year. This should see more disabled people in Parliament. This campaign endorses more inclusion in Politics. Welsh Government and Parliament want to champion disability inclusion. It’s about making politics accessible and influencing policy.
They also encourage people to pursue Access to Work. Hopefully this will expand to local and central government positions.
I like and approve of this initiative because it will cause society to reimagine law enforcement and legislation. This will also test how well MPs understand disability. For more information log on to http://www.legacyig.org.
This is the first segment of my article series ‘Dealing with Disability’. In this article, I will cover Dealing with Disability on the Job, using examples from my personal experiences.
Lived Experience
How does one handle disability in the workplace?
While living in Bermuda, I’ve had sporadic summer jobs and work experience. One paid job was working as a Junior Counselor at an inclusive Summer camp for disabled and non-disabled children.
Another paid summer job included representing Bermuda at the London 2012 Paralympic Games as a reporter. That was fun and unforgettable.
However, after graduating from university in 2017, my real career development and job searching began. My personal experience with job searching has been very tough.
Job hunting can be quite frustrating for the disabled community. We have special skill sets based on level of ability.
The problem is, we need a job to get work experience, and we need work experience to get a job. Going from interview to interview without any success can be quite discouraging.
Nowadays, there are an increasing number of disabled people starting businesses because the job searching and interview process is proving to be difficult.
If you desire to apply for benefits, you must be eligible for it. Before one is eligible, they must have a financial assessment. The unemployed who are actively seeking work can apply for the Jobseekers’ Allowance which is paid into their bank accounts from their local Jobcentre, fortnightly.
There is also the Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit that one can apply for.
Business owners are entitled to the Income Support Scheme. All of this is provided at the local Jobcentre Plus through the Department of Works and Pensions.
Purple Tuesday is an accessibility initiative for businesses and I am proud to know that Bermuda has joined this community. This initiative promotes inclusive marketing for the disabled shopper.(www.purpletuesday.org.uk)
All employers are expected to make reasonable adjustments, especially for wheelchair users. They’re also expected to conduct risks assessments for health and safety reasons. They should also provide a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan in case of any emergencies like fires or flooding.
From personal experience, I know that, the Park Place Jobcentre in Leeds, England, definitely prioritises and values the disabled community because they take precautionary measures first.
For example, during a placement that I completed under the Department of Works and Pensions at the Park Place Jobcentre, I had to complete a risk assessment for them to make reasonable adjustments in order for me to start the placement. This included checking the accessibility of escape routes for fire drills.
All employers have some level of a duty of care and can be held liable for accidents.
Employers must look at job design. Job design should play to people’s strengths. Talents and skills are important.
Employers should not give disabled people jobs out of sympathy. Problem solving skills make disabled people good candidates because they always have to overcome barriers which could make one employable.
Inclusive Workplaces
Channel 4 is a Disability Confident employer and they judge job applicants on their abilities against job descriptions. They try their best to recruit from groups in society that are underrepresented.
Job Agencies for the disabled include Remploy, Evenbreak and Scope. Remploy helps get our disabled community into cleaning jobs unless they have alternative career goals.
There’s a consultation agency called Inclusive Employers which also does this. Inclusive Employers is an organisation created to help employers develop an inclusive workplace, avoid the pitfalls of discrimination and get more from their workforce.
Inclusive Employers provides knowledge and networks to help build workplaces where people feel valued, and can add value. Their employer members are committed to creating an inclusive workplace, maximising the potential of all employees. They strive to lead the way in breaking barriers and building success.
Delsion Ltd. is another inclusive employer known as the People & Development Consultancy. They’re the award winning specialists in Learning & Development, Diversity & Inclusion and all things that help people and organisations reach their true potential.
Why should organisations employ disabled people? Why not? Political correctness is the enemy of inclusion. Political correctness is the avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.
The alternative is working from home but it doesn’t necessarily promote inclusion or diversity neither does it clamp down on discrimination.
Another interesting aspect is blind interviews vs physical interviews. Blind interviews are better than physical interviews because candidates are judged on skills not memory or tests.
Using technology and specialist equipment can make workplaces more inclusive for people with disabilities too.
Wheelchair Accessibility and mobility issues are just some of the problems that wheelchair users and the physically challenged face daily. Access alleviates the amount of limitations and restrictions on wheelchair users. Failing to ensure wheelchair accessibility is neglecting to provide reasonable adjustments. It is like functioning in dysfunction.
According to the British Government, the British can apply for dropped kerbs. However, I get really annoyed with drivers who park across dropped kerbs. Dropped kerbs are meant to make it easy for wheelchairs to enter and exit sidewalks. The Government needs to clamp down on these drivers with a fine. The same should happen in Bermuda.
AccessAdvisr helps to monitor wheelchair access. Disabled people going places. AccessAdvisr Board members are Rob Trent and Martyn Sibley.(https://accessadvisr.net)
The AccessAdvisr website allows disabled people to rate and find first-hand accessibility information. Photographs can also be uploaded alongside reviews. This helps to tackle wheelchair accessibility issues. It also encourages accountability and inclusion.
So, in ‘Dealing with Disability on the Job’, we must work towards inclusion, equality and diversity in the workplace by creating inclusion in the workplace, and inclusive workplaces. This could possibly help to improve the economy on a global scale. All jobs should be Disability Confident. I think Bermuda should also adopt this scheme to work on a better future for Bermudians.
When we think of disability we so often think of wheelchairs (understandable when you consider the disability symbol that is used everywhere), yet only 5% of disabled people actually use a wheelchair. People also tend to confuse a disability with a sickness.
Disability vs Illness
An illness is a sickness. Some illnesses are acute, which means they come on quickly and are over quickly (like a cold or the flu). Other illnesses are chronic, which means they last a long time and perhaps a lifetime (like asthma or diabetes). However, a disability is a physical or mental problem that makes it harder to do normal daily activities. You can be born with a disability or get it from an illness or an injury.
Let’s break this down into simple terms:
Physical impairments
Well, this could include anything from a loss of a limb to an agility or sensory impairment, such as visual or hearing. It would also consist of health conditions with fluctuating effects such as Diabetes, Cancer, Osteoporosis, MS, ME, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Arthritis. Also involved would be progressive conditions such as Muscular Dystrophy and Motor Neurone Disease, and respiratory conditions such as Asthma, and Cardiovascular diseases, including Thrombosis, Stroke and Heart Disease.
Mental impairments
Well, this would include learning disabilities such as Downs Syndrome. It would also comprise of developmental disorders such as Autism, Asperger’s, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. Also covered under mental impairments are mental health issues. This could include anything from severe Depression, Nervous Breakdown, OCD, Eating Disorders, Dementia, Bi-polar Disorder, Schizophrenia, as well as some personality disorders and self-harming behaviour.
Long-term
This is where the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least twelve months. There are also special rules for recurring or fluctuating conditions.
Normal day-to-day activities
Well, this would include everyday things that everyone does, like cooking a meal, having a bath or wash, or walking to the shop.
What does disability not include?
Definitely not included in the definition are conditions such as hay fever, alcoholism, addiction, exhibitionism, voyeurism or a tendency to steal abuse or set fires.
Screening disability can be very difficult, especially since it’s challenging to distinguish between disability and impairment. In regards to disability, one must first measure the level of ones’ ability before they can determine disability.
Also when dealing with disability, many of these individuals are stereotyped, ostracized and treated as less of a person based on the stigma that comes from ones’ opinion or idea of ‘normal’.
Well, what is normal?
Regarding one’s general health, the term is explained as, physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. There is no exhaustive checklist which defines disability. What’s most important is the impact and effect of the condition on someone’s day to day activities. It is also important that you don’t make judgements about how impairment is caused.
For example, liver disease caused by alcoholism would still be considered a disability, although alcoholism itself would not. The most important thing is to never make assumptions. Someone with a disability can be very, physically, fit and strong, highly intelligent and articulate.
“No disability or dictionary out there, is capable of clearly defining who we are as a person.”
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