Taking accountability in action globally on International Day of Persons with Disabilities

How Capgemini is navigating barriers for PwD employees in the workplace on three different continents

On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we’re shining a spotlight on the progress we’ve made to help foster heightened inclusion for professionals of all ability levels.

 Let’s take a look at how we’re accomplishing this with Sreya Ghosh Oberoi (Diversity and Inclusion Lead, India), Hanna Bednorz (CSR & Communication Lead, Poland), and Lauren Sanne Kimball (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Well-being Lead, Americas).

 Improving the integration of people with disabilities (PwDs) and neurodivergences in India

Sreya Ghosh Oberoi – Diversity and Inclusion Lead, India

In working as Capgemini’s Diversity and Inclusion Lead in India, I not only have the opportunity to help shape Capgemini’s evolving commitments to providing equal opportunities and dignity at work for all, but I also get to play an active role in the unique programs we offer to our people of all kinds of ability levels. I’m immensely proud of the progress we’ve made this year – particularly within workplace accessibility and the roll out of our unique Neuroinclusion Program.

Breaking down accessibility barriers on the ground

To better understand the challenges and requirements of individuals with disabilities – and make our workspaces more accommodating – Capgemini underwent a comprehensive accessibility audit. Based on this audit, we’ve remodeled our washrooms to include features such as barrier-free access, tilted mirrors, more accessible wash basins, and reserved parking spaces for added mobility support.

We’ve also implemented an enhanced emergency evacuation process and introduced braille support and visual enhancement tools such as JAWS (Job Access with Speech), which transcribes speech to text and empowers employees with visual impairment. Thanks to this audit, all of our future facilities will be completely accessible and inclusive from the ground up.

While on a more personal note, one of our colleagues with a locomotor disability who relies on crutches was encountering challenges in carrying her laptop bag from the parking area to her workstation. So, we implemented a service helpdesk solution where the employee can now submit a service request two hours prior to her arrival. She then receives assistance in picking up and dropping off her laptop bag between the parking area and her workstation.

NeuroInclusion across the entire spectrum

Another major milestone for Capgemini professionals of all abilities in India was the launch of our Neuroinclusion Program, which is dedicated to individuals on the neurodiversity spectrum and comprises two dedicated Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): CapAbility for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and NeuroAbility for Neurodiverse individuals. The CapAbility ERG team has 30 dedicated core members, while NeuroAbility is made up of 20 passionate individuals.

As part of this program, we created an inclusive recruitment guide to foster a more fair and unbiased hiring process. This guide has yielded a remarkable 3.5 times increase in the inclusion of persons with disabilities from 2017 to 2023, along with the hiring of the first full-time neurodivergent employee in SAP. Additionally, we are introducing a streamlined process for self-identification that is specifically tailored to persons with disabilities. The self-identification process is designed to be confidential, respectful, and solely aimed at creating a workplace environment that accommodates and celebrates the diverse abilities of our team members.

We also began targeted awareness sessions and training workshops for leaders, people managers, talent acquisition teams, and HR employees to help them better understand inherent biases. More than 23 workshops have been organized till date with over 6,000 employees participating.

It’s initiatives and participation numbers like these that make me excited for the future – and all the bright experiences that we’ll continue to bring professionals of all levels at Capgemini India.

Winning with Capgemini in Poland

Hanna Bednorz – CSR & Communication Lead, Poland

Growing up in Poland and seeing the immense transition this country has made when it comes to accessibility and digital transformation, the concept of digital inclusion has always been something close to my heart. During my audiovisual translation studies, I learned audio description narration and subtitling for the deaf and those who are hard of hearing. I also volunteered at a major charity in Poland, helping in the creation of alternative texts for a host of different widely published magazines, which were later distributed to visually impaired people. 

Now, as the CSR & Communication Lead at Capgemini Poland, I love that I’m able to continue this work by driving the Win with Capgemini program. This program aims to include people with disabilities in teams over the long-term and helps them effectively adapt to different workplaces. Disability has many faces. It’s often invisible – and can be associated with limitations in everyday functioning. The employment of people with disabilities is also related to specific work rules that we manage together – and we’re committed to proactively adapting the workplace in every way we can to better include professionals with disabilities. 

As part of the Win with Capgemini program, we’re building awareness among our employees and beyond. For example, through our fresh cooperation with the Zwolnieni z Teorii (Exempt from Theory) foundation, we’re driving youth mentorship projects that foster heightened digital inclusion for people with disabilities. We also bought a host of new books for our libraries to increase awareness around the topic of PwD.

Doing the needful – and going above and beyond

Polish laws surrounding workplace accessibility are very progressive. For example, we comply with all the government’s office requirements that dictate the need for workplace adaptations to better accommodate people with disabilities who have indicated this in their profiles.

However, what I really like about working within Diversity and Inclusion in Poland is that we not only focus on complying with the laws set by the government – we’re always looking for ways in which we can exceed them. If it can help a person in their daily work, we can make it happen. Some of these examples include bigger monitors, special keyboards and mouses, laptops with touch screens, ANR headphones, blue light blocking glasses, and more accessible kitchen appliances.

Additionally, even though building accessibility is required only when it comes to public buildings, we still completed an external accessibility audit and created a list of supplementary improvements and trainings that we then implemented accordingly. 

We also work closely with PwD professionals and consult with them in taking up new ideas and activities. For example, Piotr Borgulat is an accomplished Capgemini employee and wheelchair marathon athlete, who has contributed greatly to the accessibility-friendly design of our offices.  Looking forward to 2024, I’m excited for all the fresh innovations that I know we’ll be coming up with to make our workplace more accessible and inclusive.

Celebrating our abilities as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” at Capgemini

Lauren Sanne Kimball – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Well-being Lead, Americas

I’m extremely proud of our achievements in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2023. For the first time, Capgemini was recognized as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” on the Disability Equality Index. The US was the first country in the Group to apply for and be awarded this achievement, with a score of 90/100. The Disability Equality Index® (DEI) is the world’s most comprehensive benchmarking tool for the Fortune 1000 and Am Law 200 to measure their disability workplace inclusion against competitors. It measures an organization’s culture and leadership, enterprise-wide access, employment practices (benefits, recruitment, employment, education, retention and advancement, accommodations), community engagement, and supplier diversity.

A key part of this recognition stems from the launch of our CapAbility initiative as part of our LIFE Employee Resource Group. CapAbility’s mission is to provide advocacy, representation, and resources to disabled employees, those with functional limitations, and employees who are caregivers. We’ve also been working hard across our recruiting and human resources teams to align on transparent processes to support people when requesting accommodations in the workplace – from the moment they meet Capgemini and throughout their entire career. Finally, we have partnered with Disability:IN to continue to stay up to date on best practices with digital accessibility and supplier diversity.

From a personal perspective, growing up with a sister who is neurodivergent, I witnessed first-hand what it was like for her to have different strengths and struggle with unique challenges. As we have progressed in our careers, I have watched her flourish and excel in technical areas that I would never be able to thrive in. At Capgemini, we are focusing on getting rid of the stigma around disability by hosting more events and creating a community for people to come together and share their experiences. Doing this will help us create a common language around disability and will educate people about how to better support our colleagues.  

Moving forward, our top priority is to expand our CapAbility initiative and continue to align our accessibility best practices across our business lines. I believe every person has a distinct set of abilities and experiences that make them able to provide unique valuable contributions to our business. This diversity is Capgemini’s superpower – and by bringing together different perspectives and approaches, we’re able to be more innovative and creative to solve problems. Without this mix of strengths and challenges, we would not be able to serve our wide variety of clients and their diverse customers. Representation is important – and we need to reframe the view that a disability is a hinderance and see it as an asset and differentiator.

We’ve come a long way on our inclusion journey in 2023. However, we believe that in 2024, we’ll achieve even more in driving our commitment to inclusivity forward. But for now, in celebration of this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, please join us by recognizing our success in breaking down barriers to accessibility and digital inclusion – in India, Poland, and the USA – and all across Capgemini.