Expanding diversity in the workplace
Lesa Bradshaw is a ‘disability integration specialist’ and the co-owner of a recruitment and assessment consulting firm. She tells Margaret Harris that companies must never take their eyes off marketing
Tell me what you do.
I like to think I change people’s thinking! Having a background in human resources, psychology and business, my career has morphed from identifying competence and potential in people, in my role of industrial psychometrist, to promoting and marketing competence and potential in people with a disability.
It has been quite a journey. Having a disability myself — I am wheelchair bound due to spinal muscular atrophy — puts me in a position where I can set examples, change mindsets, blow stereotypes out of the water, and give people a different perspective on disability in the workplace. Our disability inclusivity model is making a real difference in the workspace.
What are the challenges disabled people face when looking for work?
Have you got eight hours to spare while I list them? OK, in a nutshell, the many barriers preventing fair and equal inclusion include:
Attitudinal barriers: society tends to have low expectations of the capabilities of people with a disability. We judge people’s “abilities” by our stereotypical understanding of their “disability”, and we whisper about disability as if it is something to be embarrassed about and pitied rather than speaking about it as just another form of diversity that makes our culture so rich;
Environmental barriers: with our stairs, transport systems, noisy environments, exclusionary schooling and inaccessible infrastructures, environmental barriers are a key obstacle; and
Organisational barriers: company policies and procedures tend to be inflexible and exclusionary. For example, the minimum requirement of matric for many companies, no matter what the position, excludes many job seekers unable to get matric due to a disability.
What mistakes at work have taught you the biggest lessons?
Never stop marketing. Many small businesses ease off on marketing and advertising when they are busy. It doesn’t matter how good you are at doing what you do, if people aren’t hearing about you, your flow of business will be sporadic.
We learnt that consistency is crucial and branding is as essential as service delivery.
What do you enjoy most about work?
Meeting so many different people. One day I’m influencing an executive committee and engaging in transformation discussions on a strategic level, and the next day I’m empowering entry-level job seekers with a disability on how to market themselves and have the confidence to enter and excel in the workplace.
What would you prefer to delegate to someone else?
The financial management component of running a business.
What do you think makes you good at what you do?
Passion, and by that I mean the passionate support I get from my team, the passion I have for promoting empowerment and fair play, the passion I have for life, and the passion I have to see mindsets about disability change.
What advice would you give to people battling to find work because of their disabilities?
First, promote yourself and your abilities with confidence, be the expert in your own disability and be able to explain the functional parameters that will require reasonable accommodation. Second, empower yourself through knowledge — know your rights as a job seeker and employee. Read the Code of Good Practice and technical assistance guide in the Employment Equity Act to understand your, and your employer’s, roles and responsibilities. And, third, be committed, enthusiastic, reliable and driven in any work role you get.