Microsoft Africa Development Centre (Microsoft ADC) is set to host a Disability Inclusion event on December 3 this year in Africa to promote the inclusiveness of People Living with Disabilities (PLWD) in key career paths.
The Disability Inclusion event, aimed at commemorating the International Day of PLWD that will be held virtually, will showcase appropriate facilities, programmes, and tools suited for PLWDs, while identifying the stereotypical perspectives affecting their employment.
In a press statement sent to newsrooms, Microsoft ADC Managing Director (MD), Jack Ngare said that PLWDs represents part of the world’s largest untapped talent pools, and that inclusion of disabled talent is crucial to achieving diversity in the workplace.
He noted that despite the world having more than one billion PLWD, this category of persons continues to experience low employment rates with high poverty rates, compared to those without disabilities.
Ngare stated that Microsoft ADC is committed to investing in PLWD inclusion across Africa through creating more opportunities for PLWD, and expressed optimism that the Disability Inclusion event will unveil the next phase of the accessibility journey, through the Microsoft Accessibility tool focused on spurring the development of more accessible technology across the technology industry.
“The Accessibility tool focuses on using the technology to create opportunities for PLWD to be included in the workforce, and building a workforce that is more inclusive for PLWD,” added the MD.
Congratulating Microsoft ADC’s employees with disabilities for continuing to be catalysts of innovations such as learning tools, live captioning in teams, and seeing artificial intelligence, Ngare affirmed that Microsoft ADC will continue to hire and nurture PLWD to bring their expertise into processes, products, and work culture at all levels.
In her address, Microsoft ADC Engineering Talent Sourcing Specialist, Sophie Okonkwo, stated that engaging PLWD in the Africa tech ecosystem is imperative, as the awareness of disability and inclusion needs to be widespread.
“Microsoft ADC Disability event aims to celebrate the ability in disability and bring to the fore, the limitless possibilities that PLWD can achieve in an inclusive world,” said Okonkwo.
Microsoft Africa Development Centre represent Microsoft’s engineering offices in Africa, with locations in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos in Nigeria, to serve as a base for African industry leaders to create local solutions that can be seen as rich globally, provide employment opportunities and enhance technological innovations in the African continent.
By Moffin Opilio and Bernadatte Khaduli
