Technological advances have created a growing digital economy, bringing about new forms of work and digital job opportunities. Remote work is one of the growing sources of new digital jobs.
What are the benefits accrued from this form of work Vis a Vis the impediments in the attainment of its benefits for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)?
Does this improve the inclusion of PWDs in the labour market or going to be a panacea for the higher unemployment rate of the PWDs in Kenya? Kenya National Survey for PWDs reported that PWDs have a higher unemployment rate than others in the labour market.
The survey further revealed that 25% of PWDs do not work, 10% are homemakers, 33% work in their own families' companies, and 16% have paid jobs.
Where access to traditional job markets may be limited by factors such as location or infrastructure, remote work offers opportunities for this group in terms of inclusion in the labour market.
One of the areas this form of work brings about benefits for PWDs is removing accessibility barriers in the physical environment.
Many office spaces simply can’t accommodate workers with
disabilities, leaving them feeling excluded or uninvited. PWDs can set up
tailored work environments in their homes with adjustments that cater
to their needs which includes the use of accessible technology and assistive
tools to create a fully personalised and functional workplace.
Furthermore, using their mobility equipment or other assistive devices in their home environment improves comfort and minimizes additional stress, creating a more supportive environment for focusing on work-related tasks and responsibilities.
In addition, remote works provides opportunities to work in a home environment.
This greatly assists individuals with learning or cognitive disabilities by allowing them to better focus, as it eliminates the distractions typically present in traditional office settings. Consequently, this can lead to an increase in productivity and improved overall performance.
Additionally, remote work eliminates accessibility barriers regarding transportation, particularly for those with mobility challenges. Navigating inaccessible public transport (that is not always disability-friendly), a lack of PWD parking, and the physical strain of traveling can take their toll on PWDs.
Fortunately, remote jobs can remove these barriers by allowing PWDs to work from home. Under this circumstance, working from home consequently saves PWDs valuable time, resources, and energy involved in commuting to work daily.
Though PWDs gain the benefits mentioned above from remote jobs, they encounter various barriers that inhibit them from fully enjoying them.
One of the barriers is that PWDs have limited access to the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The Kenya Population and Housing Census (2009) found PWDs as most disadvantaged in accessibility of ICT services in Kenya at 2.5 % compared to persons without disability at 74 %.
For instance, the census result further showed that 1.5 % of PWDs owned a mobile phone, compared to 50 % of persons without disability. This shows a disparity in terms of access to essential and affordable ICT tools necessary in the digital ecosystem.
Digital
tools like computers remain unusable for PWDs unless special assistive
technologies (AT) are provided. Concerns have been raised about the high demand
and its accessibility.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Global Report on Assistive Technology (2022) demonstrates considerable inequity in access to assistive technology.
The report enumerated that 3% of people in some low-income countries were reported to have access to the assistive products they need, in comparison to 90% in some high-income countries. WHO also estimates that about 2.5 billion people in the world need at least one or more AT.
Yet, only one in ten persons can access the AT they
need. WHO further anticipated that the AT requirements will increase to
3.5 billion. They further reported that nearly 90% of people in need of AT live
in low and middle-income countries. This indicates that the demand and the
accessibility of AT by PWDs in Kenya is no exception, limiting the involvement
of PWDs in the digital ecosystem.
Furthermore, a key challenge around digital tools and assistive technologies accessibility concerns the inability of these to cover the diverse types of disabilities hence the exclusion of other types of disabilities from accessing opportunities in the digital ecosystem.
The affordability of these ATs in terms of cost is also considered another barrier that hinders PWDs from acquiring them hence denying them the opportunity to access the labour market. Some of the key examples of AT are screen readers for persons with visual impairment, braille writing equipment, or speech recognition software.
PWDs often encounter barriers to accessing education and training. Consequently, they lack the required digital skills to be eligible for remote work bearing in mind that demand for digital skills in both existing and new remote work is growing at a constant pace. As a result, PWDs are therefore required to do continuous reskilling and upskilling to avoid being left behind.
For most people, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible. This quote by Mary Pat Radabaugh, formerly with the IBM National Support Center for Persons with Disabilities, underscores the vital role of technology in empowering and opening up opportunities for persons with disabilities in the digital ecosystem.
The government and other stakeholders in the digital economy have an important role to play in creating a digitally inclusive future of work that brings about limitless possibilities for PWDs and ensures no one is left behind.
Dhadhe Godana Boru is a disability and development specialist
