Accenture wins National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities

Accenture has been recognized for its efforts towards disability inclusion and received a National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The company won under the category ‘Divyangajano Ke Liye Sarvashrestha Niyoktha’ (Outstanding employer of Persons with Disabilities) at the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for the years 2021 and 2022, for its efforts towards hiring and growing persons with disabilities, creating a barrier-free work environment and nurturing a culture of inclusion and equality. The award was presented by the honorable President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu.

The annual awards – instituted by the Government of India’s Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment – honor individuals, institutions, organizations and state/districts for outstanding work done towards empowerment of persons with disabilities.

Quotes from Accenture in India:

Sanjay Dawar, Persons with Disabilities Sponsor, Accenture in India:  “We are honored to receive this award and believe that when we remove barriers—of the mind and in the workplace—we make the world more accessible for everyone. At Accenture, we promote a barrier-free culture that enables all our people to bring their unique skills and strengths to contribute and thrive at work. Our goal is to ensure that all our people—regardless of their disability—are able to access equal opportunities to learn, grow and perform to their fullest potential.”

Ruhi Ranjan, Inclusion & Diversity Sponsor, Accenture in India: “We feel a deep a sense of pride to be recognised with this award and remain committed to strengthening our long-standing commitment to a culture of equality. Through numerous interventions such as accessibility solutions, skilling programs, progressive people policies and sensitisation to eliminate bias, we are creating an enabling environment that empowers persons with disabilities to reach their potential not only at Accenture but also in our ecosystem.”

Background Information on disability inclusion at Accenture in India:

With 300,000+ people in India, Accenture is a talent-led organisation with industry leading practices for disability inclusion. Accenture’s India Accessibility Council works to make the company an accessible organization across its facilities, systems and with a strong culture of inclusion.

• Recruitment and skilling: All roles at Accenture are open to persons with disabilities based on their experience and skills and supported by accessibility enablement. Each of Accenture’s businesses has a dedicated recruitment team focused on persons with disabilities. The company runs an inclusive internship program to build a skilled talent pool of persons with disabilities.

• Enablement using technology:  Accenture leverages technology to create barrier-free work environments in the form of assistive technologies, ergonomic support and work applications that are accessible by design. The company’s global network of ‘Accessibility Centers of Excellence’ helps its people to choose the right kind of enablement devices after experiencing them. Accenture also undertakes collaborative technology research and development in this space.

• Medical Benefits: Accenture has an industry-leading medical insurance program that covers assistive devices, medical aids and relevant therapies.

• Leadership development: Accenture’s ‘Abilities Unleashed’ program helps its persons with disabilities become authentic leaders and role models through capability development and mentoring.

• Sensitization and evangelisation: Accenture conducts sensitization sessions for its recruitment teams, team members of persons with disabilities and others to eliminate unconscious bias and equips them with training on disability etiquette, assistive technology, etc. The company’s network of 35,000+ Persons with Disabilities Champions in 52 countries brings together people, supporters and friends for networking, mentoring and celebrating a culture of equality.

• Community efforts: Skilling for the digital economy is vital to increasing the participation of persons with disabilities in the workforce, and Accenture supports this at a community level with its ecosystem partners through its ‘Skills to Succeed’ and inclusive internship programs.