Indian companies are ramping up hiring of persons with disabilities (PwDs), seeing it as both a “social imperative” and a “strategic business advantage” amid growing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments, stakeholders said. Onboarding such people in Indian corporate houses has seen a steady rise, with a 30-40 per cent increase in job postings for inclusive roles over the past three years, they said.

Indian companies, ranging from the steel and mining sectors to the insurance segment are focusing on workplace accessibility to onboard PwDs in their job rolls. Future Generali India Insurance Company MD and CEO Anup Rau said the insurer has achieved the milestone of one per cent of its workforce comprising of PwDs.

“The commitment to ensuring at least one per cent PwDs of our workforce is rooted in our belief that inclusion is not just a box to tick or a policy to implement  it’s a responsibility to create a meaningful change,” Rau said. In the last one year, the insurer’s PwD workforce has increased from 16 to 41 employees across 16 regional branches, and nearly 22 per cent of the PwD hires are women, he said.

“In FY’23 it was stated that only seven of the Nifty 50 companies had over one per cent PwD employees, with four out of them being in the public sector space. This stark reality underscores the urgent need for corporate leadership in championing inclusion,” Rau said.

Vedanta Chief Human Resource Officer Madhu Srivastava said the group has taken a slew of steps to enhance workplace accessibility such as ramps and dedicated walkways for easy mobility, braille-enabled elevators to support visually impaired employees and text-to-speech software for better digital accessibility, and ensure a seamless experience for individuals with disabilities.

“Currently, we employ over 50 individuals from the PwD community in front-end roles and continue to expand our efforts in this space. Additionally, we have onboarded interns with disabilities to provide them with hands-on exposure to the dynamic environment of a global natural resources conglomerate like ours,” Srivastava said.

While the group’s core operations in mining and smelting present certain challenges in integrating PwDs into technical roles, it remains “committed to identifying opportunities that provide them with meaningful exposure and upskilling,” the Vedanta official said. “Embracing workplace diversity, including hiring persons with disabilities, is not just a social imperative it is a strategic business advantage,” she said.

Tata Steel spokesperson said the company employs 100+ PwD employees across functions. In an emailed response, the spokesperson said, “Over the past 2-3 years, the number of PwD employees at Tata Steel has steadily increased. We have made significant strides in our hiring practices and have actively sought to create a more inclusive environment.”

The steelmaker’s official also said including people with disabilities in the workforce strengthens businesses by fostering diverse perspectives and boosting creativity and innovation. With environmental, social and governance-focused hiring and government incentives like tax benefits for PWD employment, the share of such employees in the formal workforce is expected to double by 2030, human resources investment platform First Meridian Global Services and Innovsource CEO Manmeet Singh said.

Large corporations and startups alike are “prioritising diversity, especially in sectors like IT, retail, and BFSI, where remote and hybrid work models enable greater participation,” Singh said.

“Despite reports that India has over 7 Crore persons with disabilities (PWDs), and their employability rate remains at just 0.4 per cent, hiring of PWDs in India has seen a steady rise, with a 30-40 per cent increase in job postings for inclusive roles over the past three years,” he said.

Atlanta-based Global technology & digital talent solutions provider NLB Services CEO Sachin Alug said integrating persons with disability, although a focus area, is gaining momentum slowly in India Inc.

“Today, culture plays a major role in determining the brand identity of a company and how it is perceived by partners, customers, employees and the entire business ecosystem. In order to build a diversity-oriented culture, businesses are striving to employ a diverse workforce,” Alug said. However, there is a flip side to the story. Leading HR service provider Randstad India’-Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Study: ‘Embracing All Abilities’, revealed that talents with special abilities are employed majorly at junior and middle levels (29.84 per cent and 23.27 per cent, respectively), while their representation is relatively lower at senior and management roles.

“Overall, PwD inclusion in the workforce has not been as promising as we would expect…The silver lining lies in the fact that with India Inc. Gradually recognising the importance of workplace diversity, we see a promising future for PwD inclusion. The rise of new-collar jobs and the growing adoption of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies provide organisations with a unique opportunity to tap into the vast potential of PwD talent,” Randstad India MD and CEO Viswanath PS told PTI.

Over the last two years, there has been a 30-35 per cent increase in diversity hiring, which is a testimony to India’s DEI growth story.