`Disability is not seen as a sexy topic’

Sacha Dekker is an outspoken VP with Hubspot who also happens to be epileptic hemiplegic, a fact she refuses to let define her. Her partial body paralysis happened eight years as a result of a bleed during surgery and she has used her passion for plain talking to segue into inspirational speaking. She doesn’t pull her punches.

15 per cent of the world’s population is living with some form of disability, making it the largest minority group in the world, but the workplace in general is slow to adapt. Dekker works in a really supportive company now but when she first returned to work six years ago to a tech company, she was told by the HR manager that her disability was not a priority for that company.

“To say I was shocked is an understatement,” she says. “There is a lot of accommodation for diversity, for LGBTQ, gender and other diversities but disability is not seen as a sexy topic, indeed it’s often seen as embarrassing and an expensive accommodation.”

Research shows that last view is wrong, with €650 the average spend required of companies to accommodate people with a disability. “Ask the employee directly,” says Dekker. “It might be as simple as moving a desk nearer to the lift which costs nothing except communication.”

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Dekker also highlights that most modern buildings are fitted out with ramps and easy access, so individual companies do not have to pay to put in supports.

“Also, research shows that people with disabilities are more resilient and more creative,” says Dekker. “It’s because we have a million obstacles to overcome on a daily basis. That same creativity allows people with disabilities offer more to their employers, so companies not employing people with disability are missing out.”

Dekker points out that if workplaces are made more friendly for people with a disability, they are also more friendly for able-bodied people: “Everyone benefits.”

So while Dekker encourages workplaces to ask what they can do for their employees, other organisations for people with disabilities find they to match the person with the employer. This is the case for Down Syndrome Ireland where Aoife Gaffney is head of employment. Only 5 per cent of adults with down syndrome have a job and her role is to change that. Since the programme was set up in 2018 that statistic has already doubled, but she acknowledges it is only the beginning.

“Our role is to find companies willing to engage with us,” says Gaffney. “We set up educational workshops to inform what is needed within a company. We don’t want placebos but real jobs and our role is to help companies find suitable roles for people with down syndrome.”

Gaffney stresses that education is key to making the workplace safe for people with down syndrome.

“Often people need to understand how to interact, even down to small things like speaking face to face as sometimes the symptoms include hearing issues. We help educate and then assign mentors within the company.”

Gaffney explains that the lockdown has not been positive for people with down syndrome and when their brains are not stimulated enough through social interaction and physical activity there is a huge risk of early onset dementia.

“We are working to break down the preconceptions that someone with a disability needs to be minded and that they are unable to do jobs. We find matching the person to the job is the answer. The industries we find work best are often face-to-face jobs like hospitality and hairdressing but also some manufacturing roles are proving very successful,” she says.

So whether the workplace has to be accommodated for the person or the person matched with the job, Dekker argues that companies need to stop making assumptions.

“Oh, and we need representation, representation matters,” she says. “Currently there isn’t a single person at C-level in the Fortune 500 with a visible disability. That needs to change too.”