Pushing the boundaries to be more inclusive for colleagues with disabilities.

"This International Day of People with Disabilities, the themes of ‘leadership’ and ‘participation’ ring true with us here at Mencap.??

"We have been a charity for people with a learning disability for over 75 years. As we have grown and continue to grow, participation and leadership become more important. They?have to?be if we want the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability.?

"In 2021, we appointed three colleagues with a learning disability to our Staff Leadership Team for the first time. This is one of many steps we are taking to promote ‘equity’ in the?organisation. But we want to go further and continue to push the boundaries so we can be more inclusive for everyone.??

"As executive sponsor for the?organisation’s?Staff Disability Network, I’m committed to making Mencap a place where people with any kind of disability – be that a learning disability, physical disability, long-term or mental health condition or any other kind of individual difference – can participate in shaping the?organisation.

"We are already developing various reasonable adjustment resources for colleagues and managers and a recent discussion with the network revealed colleagues want us to review our policies for inclusion, our premises for accessibility and our understanding about how disability intersects with other parts of who we are (e.g.?age, race, sexual orientation?etc).?We are also working towards ensuring?all of?our ways of working are more accessible.?This gives us plenty to focus on and change for the better.??

But while participation is key, we also want people with disabilities, conditions and other individual differences to thrive at all levels of the?organisation, including in leadership roles.

"Our equitable recruitment work aims to attract a diverse talent pool and remove biases from our processes. One of our key performance indicators from this work is to recruit more colleagues with a learning disability. We also commit to at least 20% of our Mutual Mentoring cohort to be colleagues with disabilities (and a further minimum 20% for colleagues from B.A.M.E communities), so senior managers can learn from their lived experience, influence the culture of the?organisation?and guide their career progression at Mencap.??

"In the context of our overarching vision, we want to undertake some imaginative and ambitious research so that we better understand what people with a learning disability want when it comes to work, why so few people with a learning disability?are able to?access or maintain paid work and what more can be done to help address the barriers to work for people with a learning disability in the UK.??

"We wish everyone a happy International Day for People with Disabilities and hope we can continue to break down the barriers that have held people back for so long.

"We also look forward to a day when more people can be represented at all levels of?organisations?like Mencap to reflect modern society as inclusive for everyone.??

"To apply to work with Mencap, visit?jobs.mencap.org.uk."