There are over eleven million people living with disabilities in the United Kingdom alone. Meanwhile, Nottingham has been enjoying a drastic decrease in unemployment. The recent years have seen a much greater focus on the realities of both accessibility and employment, leading to cultural change across the world. Nowhere is this clearer than in the world of entrepreneurship, as the entrepreneurs are the ones shaping business practices. With such a heavy focus on ensuring that individuals from all demographics are included, the future of entrepreneurship looks bright.
Employment For All
Nottingham’s population has a higher than average rate of people with disabilities in comparison to the rest of the UK, which makes the statistics much more powerful. Employment for those living with disabilities has steadily risen in the recent past, helping to counteract decades of high unemployment. Individuals with a disability have suffered remarkably high unemployment rates due to workplace discrimination and a lack of accessibility. The current employment rate is 51.3%, a 1.5% increase from 2018’s 49.8%. In comparison to the 81.4% rate held by those without disabilities, the employment gap is plain to see. So what’s causing the gap to close and employment to rise? Entrepreneurs are conducting business with accessibility in mind. Workplaces are now often designed with accessibility in heavy consideration, due to the changing culture around awareness of issues that those without disabilities often fail to consider. Along with that has been a strong focus on the “internet of things,” with accessibility increased due to the interlinking connections of the factors of working life.
Additionally, many entrepreneurs and businesses have begun initiatives to ensure employment for employees with disabilities. Businesses like Starbucks have widely known campaigns to employ those with physical and learning disabilities, with a focus on military veterans. This example has thankfully spilled over into the entrepreneurship scene, helping them follow the trail to help raise employment numbers. The internet of things has come into play here as well, with a rise in work-from-home positions such as freelance writing, programming, and other positions that need little to no commute or travel.
An Inclusive Culture
So much of entrepreneurship is based on the culture in which a business is being started. With today’s shift in focus towards inclusivity for all, those living with disabilities are finally being considered. Admittedly, there’s still an incredible distance to cover, but that does nothing to lessen the considerable amount of effort being put into increasing accessibility and inclusivity as a whole. Nottingham features a great number of meetups and other social groups to help ensure that everyone is included in local events. Many of these meetups are online or through social media to aid in reducing travel and increasing ease of accessibility for all.
Entrepreneurship has extended to the arts and social media in recent decades, reaching a massive audience of all demographics. It’s within these platforms that change has begun to take hold. Art from artists with disabilities is featured more often than it was previously, allowing for heightened visibility and education on the issues faced by the marginalised populace. The culture extends to sports as well, as evidenced by the record-breakingly high viewership of the 2017 Special Olympics.
“Through cultural change and improved accessibility, entrepreneurship is helping to increase inclusivity across all demographics. The heightened societal appreciation and acceptance of those that were previously shunned has increased astronomically as a result of entrepreneurship culture. With the current trends in mind, the future of disability accessibility in entrepreneurship culture seems bright.”
This change can be heavily accredited to entrepreneurship culture. The efforts of entrepreneurs such as social media influencers and budding artists carving out a name for themselves has raised visibility and worked to undo toxic public opinions. The future looks bright, as the cultural change snowballs further. Future entrepreneurs see the example set by the current generation and the success that has been found there, allowing a domino effect of accessibility.
