Future Generali India Insurance (FGII) celebrated the Divers‘Ability’ week from 21 to 25 November 2022, as part of its commitment to making its workplace all inclusive and equitable. The special initiative was not just to mark the upcoming International Day of Disabled Persons on 3 December, but also to acknowledge the contributions made by the specially-abled employees, and encourage more participation from the community.
The celebration was complemented with the launch of a unique campaign #DISABLEDBYYOURJUDGEMENT’ which spreads the message to not let your judgement end up disabling your specially-abled colleagues.
The theme of the Divers‘Abilty’ week celebration revolved around spending ‘a day in the shoes of…’ encouraging employees to experience the constraints faced by their specially-abled colleagues.
Employees were provided special handouts to familiarise themselves with the Braille language requesting them to decode a special message in Braille, perform activities while they are blind-folded and order their lunch in sign language.
Motivational speakers Virali Modi and Vineet Saraiwala were invited to share their experiences, and further educate and sensitise employees. The event also featured a panel discussion, an exhibition of products made by the specially-abled and a talent show.
This was a three-pronged approach to educating and sensitising employees, helping them empathise, and also recognising the specially-abled employees.
To commemorate the start of the Divers‘Abilty’ Week, FGII released a short video as part of the #DISABLEDBYYOURJUDGEMENT campaign, depicting the manner in which the specially-abled employees are made to feel different by their peers at the workplace. It exemplifies how everyone should learn to look past someone’s disability and appreciate them for who they are and what they can do.
According to Ruchika Varma, chief marketing officer, Future Generali India Insurance, the Divers‘Ability’ week will “break inherent biases in the workplace and bridge the gap between our diverse employees in a healthy and innovative way. The video takes the narrative ahead and conveys the campaign’s central message: ‘YOUR JUDGEMENT IS MY DISABILITY.’”
Like she points out, it is easy to focus on the disability of specially-abled individuals, and ignore their individualities and contributions in the workplace,” while the need of the hour is “to look at things through a positive lens, with an emphasis on ability and break biases in context to work environment”.
