July is about to begin, and is observed as Disability Pride Month. Its genesis lies in the fact that the supposedly gold standard act for inclusion- ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was enacted into law on July 26, 1990.
How much the act holds relevance in today’s time and age might be questionable given the current geopolitical scenario.
Having said that, one cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that Globally, about 1.3 billion people (roughly 16% of the world’s population) live with a significant disability. In India, official figures from the 2011 Census record 26.8 million disabled persons (about 2.21% of the population), though modern health surveys estimate the actual figure is much higher, ranging between 40 to 90 million individuals.
Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) are explicitly protected and promoted across several core UN frameworks and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives, which center on the promise to “leave no one behind”.
- SDG 4: Quality Education: Ensures equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, explicitly mandating disability-sensitive educational facilities.
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promotes full and productive employment, as well as decent work for all women and men, specifically including persons with disabilities.
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: Aims to empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, including PwDs.
- SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: Focuses on providing universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible public transport and green spaces for PwDs.
The above 4 areas are where organisations can make a significant impact.
So, over the years I’ve found myself thinking about what can we all do to make a tangible impact. It started with our 18 month long research on all 21 disabilities covered under the RPWD act 2016, and studying statutes, cultural inclusion and best practices across 17 countries.
The question i want to put forth is- What if Disability Pride Month is not only an opportunity to understand disability better, but also an opportunity to understand inclusive leadership better?
One of the biggest misconceptions I encounter is that disability inclusion is primarily about supporting employees with disabilities.
And i disagree with that. Having spoken to thousands of professional PwDs, I believe it is about understanding how organisations make decisions.
In my work with leaders across industries, I have noticed that inclusive organisations don’t simply respond better when someone requests for an accommodation. They think differently long before that request is ever made.
They ask different questions. Not, “How do we support this employee?” But, “What assumptions have we built into the way we work?”
Those questions show up everywhere.
- Team meetings- Who was this meeting designed for? Is it accessible to everyone?
- Recruitment- Who was this process designed for? Are our JDs inclusive in language. Are our interviews inclusive? Are our hiring teams aware about inclusive language, reasonable accomodations?
- Performance evaluation- Who is poised to succeed in this performance system and who will encounter systemic barriers.
Who finds these processes intuitive, and who quietly has to work twice as hard just to participate?
These are leadership questions disguised as accessibility questions.
That distinction matters because organisations often celebrate the arrival of a person with a disability while leaving the workplace itself largely unchanged.
The employee adapts to survive. To prove that they belong. The organisation applauds and celebrates.
But the system remains exactly as it was.
I have never believed that inclusion is a one time initiative. That one infrastructure audit but no implementation. Hiring bootcamps but no understanding of reasonable accommodations. There is no firm start and stop. Its a journey.
Real inclusion is felt when someone joins a meeting without first wondering whether they will be able to participate. It is when a candidate completes a recruitment process without having to ask for exceptions. It is when an employee spends their energy doing meaningful work rather than constantly navigating unnecessary barriers.
Interestingly, the organisations that become more accessible and incluysive rarely improve life only for employees with disabilities.
They simplify work for everyone.
Clearer communication benefits every team. Flexible ways of working support parents, caregivers, older employees, and people managing temporary health conditions. Better designed technology reduces friction for everyone who uses it.
That is why accessibility is never simply about disability. It is evidence of how thoughtfully an organisation has been designed so that everyone, irrespective of differences, can thrive.
This Disability Pride Month, perhaps the conversation should not begin with asking how we can better support people with disabilities.
Perhaps it should begin by asking what our everyday decisions reveal about the way we lead and operate.
And there is no stronger expression of inclusion than designing workplaces where fewer people need to ask for permission to belong.
And for those who believe that this is not for them- i just want to end with one more fact- 90% of persons with disabilities are not born with a disabilities. 90% disabilities are acquired within the age range of 18 to 65 years, due to illnesses, auto-immune diseases, freak accidents. So we woul