Evaluating the Conducive Work Environment of Employees with Disability: An Empirical Study in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar Districts, India

AuthorA. Marisport,Hiteshkumar Thakkar,Anant Agarwal,Anuj Kumar Tiwari,Gauransh Gaur
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/22774017221094918
Published date01 June 2021
Date01 June 2021
Subject MatterArticles
Article
Evaluating the Conducive
Work Environment
of Employees with
Disability: An Empirical
Study in Ahmedabad and
Gandhinagar Districts, India
A. Marisport1, Hiteshkumar Thakkar1, Anant Agarwal1,
Anuj Kumar Tiwari1 and Gauransh Gaur1
Abstract
To explore the relevance of variables, such as accessibility, treatment and
satisfaction, with work of employees with disability through statistical tests, the
article aims to highlight the divide between employees with disability and non-
disability. The authors derive the data through a primary survey from employees
of government organisations in the Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar districts of the
state of Gujarat, India. The employees consisted of both employees with disability
and fellow employees (non-disabled). Primary data were collected from 128
respondents by the survey method through a questionnaire. A worrisome divide
is found between the accessibility levels of employees with disability and non-
disability. Through responses from employers, we find they are equally satisfied
with work of both employees with disability and non-disability. However, there
still exists significant mean rank difference in variables, like financial benefits and
promotional policy, and treatment at the workplace, with non-disabled employees
having a higher mean value.
Keywords
Accessibility, treatment of employees with disability; field study, Rights of Persons
with Disabilities Act, 2016
Journal of National
Law University Delhi
8(1–2) 11–28, 2021
© 2022 National Law
University Delhi
Reprints and permissions:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/22774017221094918
journals.sagepub.com/home/jlu
1 Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
Corresponding author:
Hiteshkumar Thakkar, Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382421, India.
E-mail: hthakkar@gnlu.ac.in
12 Journal of National Law University Delhi 8(1–2)
Introduction
It is often said that the measure of a country’s success is the state of living for its
marginalised citizens.1 Leading a seemingly normal life has always been difficult
for persons with disabilities (PWDs), and limitations to accessibility only increase
in a country like India where there more than 12 million PWDs, which is equiva-
lent to 2.1% of the national population.2 India ranks 131 of 189 nations on the
Human Development Index, reflecting a lower level of development and standard
of living.3 The most prevalent type of disability is in movement (20%), followed
by disability in vision (19%) and disability in hearing (19%). Almost 8% of PWDs
have multiple disabilities. People with disabilities experience entrenched barriers
to accessibility, which many abled individuals take for granted.4 India has lagged
in building disabled-friendly infrastructure, and the social fabric has excluded
PWDs through systemic methods.5
To remedy this wide gap between the abled and disabled persons, pursuant to
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(UNCRPD), the Government of India sought to enact the Persons with Disabilities
Act, 1995.6 However, the Act did not meet the expectations it sought to achieve,
and a modified Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD Act), 2016 was
enacted.7 The new Act aimed to provide better accessibility to infrastructure,
education facilities and employment opportunities. Employment for PWDs is
crucial as it provides them with a higher standard of living, financial independence
and psychological confidence in their abilities.8 Government welfare schemes,
such as pension, financial aid, and free bus pass, could help PWDs, but appropriate
employment only ensures their dignified life.9 Employers have been incentivised
under the RPWD Act to provide better accommodation to PWDs.10 The UNCRPD
Act and the RPWD Act mandate the state to ensure the conducive work
1 C. Barnes, Disability and Employment, 21 Pers. rev. 55–73 (1991).
2 World Health Organization, World Report on Disability (World Health Organization, 2011).
3 UNDP, Human Development Report. Beyond Income, Beyond Averages, Beyond Today: Inequalities
in Human Development in the 21st Century, 2019, http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-
report-2019 (accessed 24 March 2022).
4 T. L. Scheid, Stigma as a Barrier to Employment: Mental Disability and the Americans with
Disabilities Act, 28 Int. J. Law PsychIatry 670–690 (2005). doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2005.04.003
5 Nilika Mehrotra, Disability Rights Movements in India: Politics and Practice, 46(6) econ. PoLIt.
wkLy. 65–72 (2011).
6 United Nations, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 25(15) treaty serIes. 3–192
(2006).
7 Government of India, The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, Gazette of India (Extra-
Ordinary), 28 December 2016, https://disabilityaffairs.gov.in/content/page/acts.php (accessed April
2022).
8 S. L. Saunders & B. Nedelec, What Work Means to People with Work Disability: A Scoping Review,
24 J. occuP. rehabIL. 100–110 (2014). doi:10.1007/s10926-013-9436-y
9 P. Blanck, M. Adya, W. N. Myhill, D. Samant & P. C. Chen, Employment of People with Disabilities:
Twenty-Five Years Back and Ahead, 25 Law Ineq. 323–354 (2007).
10 J. Copeland, F. Chan, J. Bezyak, & R. T. Fraser, Assessing Cognitive and Affective Reactions of
Employers Toward People with Disabilities in the Workplace, 20 J. occuP. rehabIL. 427–434 (2010).
doi:10.1007/s10926-009-9207-y

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