Hi all.
Disability seems to me to be the most neglected topic on the D,E&I agenda. Historically, it’s always been harder to get people along to events about disability. Which seems odd given there are 14.1 million disabled people in the UK (Source: Scope). I think Will is going to be a huge force behind changing that, getting more people engaged in the topic and improving accessibility for everyone.
Since I first met Will 3 years ago, I have learnt so much and had my own stereotypes and limiting beliefs challenged. I’m so excited to welcome him to the team.
He is a brilliant public speaker, so get in touch if you are making plans for International Day of People With Disabilities on 3rd December.
He’s also hoping to get informal chats in with our key clients about how to get disability on the agenda in 2022 – again, get in touch - will@thehobbsconsultancy.com.
I’ll hand over to Will…
Hello everybody,
As the Hobbs Consultancy’s newly appointed ‘disability guy’, we thought it would be a good idea to use the forthcoming International Day of People With Disabilities on 3rd December (IDPWD) as an opportunity to talk a little bit about myself, my role and our plans around disability inclusion.
I was injured during the Mumbai Terror attack in November 2008, when I fell sixty feet trying to escape a burning Taj Palace Hotel. After life-saving surgery in India, I was repatriated to the UK where I spent eight months in hospital. It wasn’t until I arrived at Stanmore RNOH in late January, that I had a proper consultation about the extent of my injuries. The day I was told that my spinal injury was permanent – or, to use correct medical parlance, a ‘Complete Injury’ – was my emotional Ground Zero.
In the space of one meeting, I went from being injured to being disabled. I had gone from being a young man working in advertising, who had ambitions of becoming a film director, to a wheelchair-bound cripple with zero prospects. I was wrong on so many levels. Firstly, as the Spinal Injury Association’s tag line declares: there is life after a spinal injury. Secondly, we don’t use language like ‘wheelchair-bound’ or ‘cripple’. I’m a wheelchair using disabled man. And that’s cool. I’m okay with that. It took me a while, but I’m proud to be disabled.
So, what now? Well, I want to help normalise disability and remove the negative stigma attached to disabled people. I also want to address accessibility issues that position disabled people as an afterthought, both in the physical and digital world. For instance, the other week I went kayaking for the first time at The Lee Valley White Water Centre. In the process of booking a session I became so frustrated with their website that I got in touch via social media. To cut a long story short, I’m now helping them to re-prioritise disability by communicating more openly and effectively with disabled people.
By joining Rox and The Hobbs Consultancy, I’ve already been given a platform to speak at various events and panels, as well as develop a disability e-learning module. But as we continue to develop products around disability, I want to provide more than just an inspiring start to a journey. I want us to be able to connect businesses to organisations who are experts at making the reasonable adjustments disabled people need to access all facets of society.
In fact, with IDPWD just around the corner, now is as good a time as any to ask whether your business is ahead of the curve on disability inclusion – is it making all the necessary reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled people in the workplace and via consumer channels? If you’re unsure or just want to have a frank conversation around disability, then please get in touch - will@thehobbsconsultancy.com.
This is just the start of our journey, but I’m excited to be part of a team that wants to help make the world a more inclusive place.
Will
Follow this link to to take our e-learning module on disabilty in the workplace, curated by Will
Email will@thehobbsconsultancy.com to have a conversation with Will about IDPWD 2021 or about getting disability on your company’s radar for 2022
And finally, just a reminder that we have our Masculinity in the Workplace event on 19th November (which is how I originally met Will) and you can access your tickets here.
Rox x