Despite some positive changes, such as the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), equality in the workplace remains a distant dream for a majority of disabled people. For example, latest research from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, shows that only 26% of blind and visually impaired people of working age are employed. And it isn’t because of a lack of skills and qualifications. According to the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, blind graduates are twice as likely as their non-disabled counterparts to be unemployed. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/13/blind-damian-green-plan-disabled-flawed-public-sector-devalues Back in the 1980s when I applied for my first teaching post, the situation seemed relatively straightforward. I had two relevant degrees, a qualification in teaching, and the belief that I was embarking on a career I could both cope with and, in time, be good at. Of course, I knew that being blind involved some additional challenges. There were the more mundane parts of the work – like marking, keeping student records and registers – that I would always be much slower at. But that was something I was prepared to shoulder. If anyone at my job interview had raised this as a problem, I would have pointed out the many qualities that made me an excellent candidate. I was an expert in my subject; I was able to convey a love of language and literature to young people; I was conscientious and hard-working.
Advertisement Report this ad And so, for several years, I was that most fortunate of beings: someone with a profound disability doing a job But then the tide turned and things began to change. More students per class; more teaching hours per week; and more teaching weeks per year. Nobody liked the changes, but they were having a disproportionately negative impact on me as a disabled employee. Every change emphasised those mundane, quantitative parts of the job at which I was necessarily much slower. Endless new paperwork and extra marking, which already took me twice as long as non-disabled colleagues, -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
