Impactful companies that integrate people with disabilities
- Jessica Oyarbide
- Jul 14, 2024
- 4 min read
Around 80% of people with disabilities are unable to access decent employment appropriate to their abilities. Social and Impact Enterprises demonstrate, once again, that businesses can be created with a strong focus on social integration. Three Argentine examples and one from the United Kingdom exemplify how to effectively generate social inclusion.
Although approximately 10% of the Argentine population has some type of disability, according to INDEC (National Institute of Statistics and Census), mechanisms and adaptations for their participation in the labor market are still lacking. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 80% of the population with disabilities lacks access to formal employment. This translates into fewer economic opportunities, poorer access to education, and higher poverty rates for people with disabilities.
Integrating people with disabilities into the labor market doesn't simply mean hiring, but also creating an environment where they can coexist and participate, taking into account the needs of this group of people. It also involves breaking down prejudices and shifting the focus from disabilities to abilities, potential, and talents.
There are companies founded with the goal of creating opportunities for people with disabilities, demonstrating that it is possible to create safe, productive, and inclusive work environments.
In Good Hands, a Social Enterprise that demonstrates the productivity of people with disabilities
In Good Hands was founded to demonstrate that people with disabilities can be perfectly productive. It creates job opportunities for people with disabilities through various services it sells to companies, such as catering provided by deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals, massages provided by blind individuals, fresh fruit and snack delivery services provided by individuals with intellectual disabilities, and manicure services performed by women in wheelchairs. The organization works to ensure that people with disabilities can fully integrate into the labor market by providing them with the necessary tools for their professional development. It not only sells services to companies, but also, through hiring, demonstrates to them that they too can hire people with disabilities to perform various tasks.
Alamesa, a restaurant staffed entirely by neurodiverse young people
Alamesa is the first restaurant in Argentina staffed entirely by 40 neurodiverse people. This restaurant, located in Buenos Aires, stands out for its commitment to workplace inclusion, demonstrating that neurodiverse people can perform effectively in demanding professional environments. The restaurant not only focuses on employment, but has also created a system for ordering, collecting payments, serving customers, and even a menu that doesn't involve the use of fire, knives, or scales, to ensure its employees can perform successfully. The initiative not only promotes inclusion but also seeks to change social perceptions about the capabilities of neurodiverse people.
Include me, the job search platform focused on inclusion
IncludeMe is a platform that connects people with disabilities with job opportunities. This social enterprise focuses on eliminating barriers to employment and promoting diversity in the workplace. To this end, it offers training and support services to both candidates and companies, facilitating the creation of inclusive work environments. It already has more than 700 companies that rely on its services, more than 240,000 people with disabilities registered on the platform, and more than 12,000 people with disabilities have participated in its training. It has a presence in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico.
No Limits Café: An inspiring example from the UK
On the outside, No Limits Café is a coffee shop and restaurant dedicated to employing and training people with disabilities. On the inside, it serves as a platform that allows this group of individuals to take their first steps into the workforce and gain professional integration in spaces that align with their talents and abilities. The café focuses on creating an inclusive and accessible environment, where each employee is valued for their contributions. When people with disabilities join No Limits Café, they gain their first job experience in customer service, but at the same time, they participate in a job inclusion program that helps them discover their talents, skills, and interests, prepare for job interviews, create their resumes, and connect them with a network of companies committed to inclusion. After the eight-week work experience at the café, many of them gain employment in various fields.
Labor inclusion is one of the key aspects to address when reducing social inequalities. There are different ways to contribute to this, whether through recruitment programs, developing alliances, or searching for suppliers that focus on social integration.
Social and Impact Enterprises are leading the way in inclusion, and in Argentina, a large number of the Social Enterprises that participated in the Social Enterprise Mapping focus on this topic. The mapping was promoted by the Roundtable for the Promotion of Social Enterprises, co-created by EKHOS, the CIS of the University of San Andrés, the FCE of the Austral University, Keidos, Libertate, Efecto Colibrí, among others. It can be downloaded for free at https://ekhos.org/mesaies.
Marcas que Marcan (MQM) supports companies in their efforts to develop positive impact initiatives, whether through social inclusion, mitigation of social and/or environmental issues, or the development of projects focused on positive impact, using the MQM® method. For more information, please contact jessica@marcasquemarcan.com.
Comments