Disability Means Doing Things Differently

Diversity is an integral part of an organisation that also provides strength to its core. Hiring talent from different backgrounds – regions, religions, languages, skills and physical abilities – helps companies to grow rapidly. Disability is one facet of diversity wherein a person is specially-abled in terms of a certain skills and works differently than other individuals in his or her organisation. But often, these different ways of doing work are considered abnormal and become the basis of discrimination towards disabled people in workplaces and society. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution provides the right to life and liberty to every citizen of the country irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and ability. These frameworks help disabled people to be empowered.

Madhu Bala Sharma, Senior DEI Specialist - Communities leader APJCME, Amazon India, is one such personality who went beyond her limits set by nature and proved herself in the best way possible. In a conversation with BW Businessworld, Sharma shares the challenges and victories of her journey. Excerpts:

What is your personal philosophy and vision for disabled people in the corporate world?

My philosophy truly is that we people with disabilities are people first and disability is something that has come to us and it does not define us. Disability is just one part of us; if we just have it, now we need to work with that. So, If I am totally blind, I need to now find solutions. I will not do different things but will do things differently.

We don’t have any special ability, we do not have extra sense. We have one out of the four or five senses missing, and we use the other four senses to compensate for that one last sense. So we are not especially abled, we are people first. Calling people with disabilities specially-abled, differently abled or people with special abilities – is not something which the community actually prefers.

What was the driving factor that inspired you to work for disabled people?

I feel that people with disabilities are the best advocates for themselves. Self-advocacy is very important. I was born with the disability and have been living with it, so it’s not something that I got late in life. I have learned to live with it from the start. And one big motivating factor was how my parents groomed me. I have an elder sister and a younger brother. My sister and I are totally blind while my brother can see. Our parents did not to limit us, they spent on our education, they enabled us to step out of the house and even with the limited resources they did the best for us. The second factor is self-advocacy. I know best what I need. If I am able to open doors for myself, I would like the same for others as well.

What is your vision for the disabled community?

I have been working in the corporate for over 20 years now. I am in the space of diversity, equity and inclusion. I try to foster inclusion and champion inclusion as much as I can within my organisation.

I work with various NGOs, like National Association for the Blind (NAB) as a governing council member. I serve on the board of the Centre for Blind Women. Within my organisation, I serve on the board of the affinity group for people with disabilities. I give a lot of talks, address people in various forums and through these initiatives that we take and awareness workshops that we conduct - we envision a society where there is no need for me to do this work. People become so aware that inclusion happens as muscle memory and inclusion happens effortlessly.

Please elaborate on the programmes, sensitisation drives and guidelines Amazon has to cater to disabled community within the organisation.

Within Amazon, we have a lot of initiatives that enable people with disabilities. The organisation provides the tools and technology required to work independently. We have policies and processes. We have an affinity group that enables people with disabilities. The group has senior leaders who advocate for us. We believe that sign language is not something that only the deaf should know. It is a language that everybody should know to communicate with deaf and dumb people. We are running one project where we are training our employees to learn sign language.

How does it feel to win such an award and recognition?

It gives credentials and authenticity to the attempts that I bring to the table. I totally see this as a big support for me to enable me and build that credibility in all that I do for helping people to understand people with disabilities.