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Diversity at IBM
People with disability
As a business, we recognise the need to capitalise on the skills and talents of all segments of our diverse community. With four million Australians identifying as having a disability - a figure that will increase as our population ages - we are committed to building the representation of People With Disability (PwD) into our workforce.
Already, our proactive approach to employing PwD means this important group is represented across our business.
Where needed, we provide accommodations -- a modified workplace, specialist equipment or tools -- to ensure our PwD employees are able to realise their potential.
Proactive recruitment
IBM proactively seeks to employ graduates and professionals with a disability. Our recruitment specialists are trained in disability employment and hiring practices and we communicate this focus to our recruitment supplier agencies.
To build and encourage the pipeline of candidates, IBM participates in an external national wide mentoring program for tertiary students with a disability facilitated by the Australian Employers Network on Disability.
Building accessibility
We are continually improving our premises to ensure all IBM offices are accessible to employees, clients and the general public.
Computer access
IBM provides modified workstations and specialist IT equipment for employees with disabilities.We are committed to developing and using technology to improve access in the workplace. IBM has several Accessibility Centres around the world and a website (US) dedicated to assistive technology in the workplace.
Communications access
IBM's instant messaging service helps our deaf employees to communicate with their colleagues. We also support video remote interpreting and live remote captioning and encourage hearing employees to undertake deafness awareness training.
Disability Employee Networking Group
With a senior executive as its sponsor, this Group actively supports employees with a disability and provides feedback to the company.
Disability awareness training
Awareness training is offered to IBM's Human Resource community, Real Estate, Procurement and Diversity Contact Officers.
Career advancement
We make sure employees with a disability are included in all our high-potential succession planning strategies
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Tekla
Tekla - Inclusive Design Research Centre
Description
Tekla is a set of open software and hardware tools that facilitate access to electronic devices for people with mobility impairments.
The Tekla App is an input method that enables external switch access to Android. This is a special kind of application that integrates tightly with the operating system enabling access to most of its functions.
Tekla supports wireless control of Android, via an on-screen keyboard, directly from a powered wheelchair or standard ability switches connected to a Tekla Shield:
http://scyp.idrc.ocad.ca/projects/tekla/the-shield
Other supported access features include:
* Single-switch access
* 2-4 switch access
* Direct-scanning
* Self-scanning and
* Fullscreen switch mode
Tekla is part of the AEGIS (Ontario) Project (http://aegis.idrc.ocad.ca/). It is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (http://www.mri.gov.on.ca/) and supported by the AEGIS (Europe) Project (http://www.aegis-project.eu/).
Additional details are available at:
http://scyp.idrc.ocad.ca/projects/tekla
App Screenshots
Videos
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Channel 9 News
Earlier this week I was contacted by the Channel 9 news team about the inappropriate use of accessible car parking bays. This of course is very close to my heart as I have had many heated discussions with individuals who have parked in the accessible parking bays without a parking permit.
The Channel 9 news team will be conducting an interview of me today and the show will probably air on Monday night. I don't have any information about what the actual story is about but any opportunity to raise the awareness that the accessible car parking bays are to be only used by legitimate permit holders is a bonus.
It is my intention to speak relatively bluntly about the fact that accessible parking bays are not:
- drop-off zones
- 5 min. parking bays
- loading zones
- I'll be back in a minute bays
Once the story has aired we will try to get a copy and upload it to our website blog.
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AS2890.6 - 2009 Why it doesn't work
Ever since the AS2890.6 - 2009 was released we have wondered how this would work in a real world. The answer is "IT DOESN'T".
Have a look at the below clip that we put together that explains some of the reasons why AS2890.6 - 2009 doesn't work.
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New building accessibility standards
New building accessibility standards, which will ensure that public buildings in Australia are accessible to people with disabilities have now come into force.
Attorney-General, Robert McClelland said the Disability (Access to Buildings – Premises) Standards 2010 (Premises Standards) was an important milestone in the National Disability Strategy.
“The new Premises Standards will apply to any application for a building approval for a new public building or upgrade of an existing public building,” Mr McClelland said.
“Providing better access to public buildings will remove a significant barrier for people with a disability accessing services, employment and taking part in the community.”
He said the access requirements in the Premises Standards operated throughout Australia and were complemented by building regulations in each State and Territory.
Minister for Innovation, Senator Kim Carr said the changes were good for both the building industry and people with disability.
“The Australian Government will work with industry to improve access to buildings in Australia for people with disabilities,” Senator Carr said.
“The new building codes give everybody involved the certainty they need for future investments.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers, Senator Jan McLucas also welcomed the Standards.
“Ensuring our communities are accessible and well designed for people with disability is an important part of the National Disability Strategy,” Senator McLucas said.
She said the National Disability Strategy set a 10-year reform plan that would help to ensure that people with disability had the same opportunities as other Australians.
Senator McLucas said the Premises Standards had been under development since 2001 and were developed in consultation with representatives of the disability sector and industry, as well as the Australian Building Codes Board and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
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BUDGET 2011: A thin ray of light
Natasha Stott Despoja
Published 7:48 AM, 11 May 2011 Last update 10:10 AM, 11 May 2011
As John Mendoza, the former Chair of the National Advisory Council on Mental Health, pointed out, it has taken four budgets under the Rudd/Gillard government to deliver on an issue they claimed was a priority from the start.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott quite rightly is claiming some credit for “shaming” the government into action on the issue. He went to the last election with a better policy. Nonetheless, inaction and inadequate funding under successive governments explain the resource problems in the sector today.
If governments are overawed by current health costs, they need to prepare for the impact of mental illness: it affects one in five Australians at some point in their lifetime. Around one million adults and 100,000 young people live with depression each year. Depression is currently the leading cause of non-fatal disability in
Australia, but only 3 per cent of the population identifies it as a major health problem. Seems it has taken awhile for governments to identify it as a major budget issue.
Postnatal depression affects 16 per cent of new mothers (granted, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd provided approximately $85 million towards work on perinatal depression as soon as he got into office). And the statistics go on.
The money is a drop in the ocean given the magnitude of this problem, but the resources are welcomed.
While the budget had additional funding for some other health initiatives, such as hospital reform, regional health measures, diagnostic imaging services etc, the medical research sector is enjoying a reprieve after anticipating unwarranted cuts to the NHMRC budget. Apparently, there is a slight increase in the budget for the
NHMRC but funding for projects and fellowships and so on is essentially maintained at existing levels. The overall result is testament to a well-run campaign by the sector but the government should never have contemplated such cuts.
Treasurer Wayne Swan argues this budget is about ensuring Australians “succeed in the good times as we did in the bad – by choice, not by chance”. But not all his choices bode well for families or those sectors affected by a two-speed economy or a stronger dollar (think manufacturing, tourism etc).
The Treasurer’s speech highlighted the need for an expanding and more productive workforce. Key to this was investment in vocational education and training and removing barriers for workforce participation.
Swan claims addressing the entrenched disadvantaged is a budget focus but some of the pettier items pick on the most disadvantaged in our community, be it those on disability pensions or mothers with young children.
The Labor government certainly hit the easy targets like single parents, young people and those on disability pensions. Some single parents are predicted to lose up to $60 per week and some young people up to $40 per week.
Hearing Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey lament the $2 billion worth of cuts to family payments made me wonder which political party was actually the party of labour and families tonight.
Treasurer Swan’s fiscal goal is a return to surplus (apparently on track for 2012-13 despite being deeper in the red now than previously expected). Swan is wedded to the Holy Grail of budgeting but most Australians recognise that, in recent times, the surplus has become more of a political goal than an exemplar of economic
responsibility.
The government has slashed $1 billion out of the public service and has cut $3 billion from defence. (Will this play out in theatres of war like Afghanistan, we wonder?) But these are cuts that are unlikely to generate too much political heat.
Luring skilled migrants to regional areas seems to be the main item being spruiked by the government in the immigration portfolio, thus, deflecting from the omnipresent issue of asylum seekers, well at least for a night.
Senator Bob Brown said the budget was a “missed opportunity” while Joe Hockey described it as built on a ‘house of cards’. Both descriptions remind me that on budget night you can be sure nearly every cliché is taken out for spin. Usually you get “smoke and mirrors”, “death by a thousand cuts”, “sticks and carrots”.
As commentators sifted through the metaphors and economists checked the details plans, the drinks and parties were in full swing in Parliament House last night. But the government’s hard sell has only just begun: the public is one thing, but getting some of these measures through the Senate will be another.
Natasha Stott Despoja is a director of beyondblue and a director of The Burnet Institute.
Read all of Business Spectator's 2011 federal budget coverage here
.
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Flash Mob @ Fed Square
People with and without disabilities descend on Federation Square for the Rawcus flashmob.
Part of the City of Port Phillip YouTube Project supported by the Victorian Department of Human Services, Southern Region. The flashmob was conceived by Rawcus. Directed by Kate Sulan (www.rawcus.org.au) and Clair Korobacz (www.onestepatatimelikethis.com). Project management by Rosemary Joy
Including performers from Rawcus, City of Port Phillip, FOG Theatre, Family Dog Theatre, DVA, Boilover, City of Voices, Access Theatre, Rollercoaster, Ignition, The Torch, Templestowe Hall Drama, NEAMI, Yooralla, Scope, Arts Access, Department of Human Services, City of Melbourne, City of Dandenong, Melbourne City Mission, Ringwood Secondary College, Lauriston Girls School, Work Education (RMIT), Warringa Park School, Deaf Access, Arts Victoria, CAE, JCAAA, Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Interact, Wallara Australia - Life Options and Volunteering Victoria
Song: "Hljómalind"
Written and Performed by: Sigur Rós
Used by kind permission from Sigur Rós
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DISCRIMINATION - What is it?
Discrimination is defined as;
- unfair treatment of a person or a group of people, on the basis of prejudice.
- the cognitive process whereby two or more categories are distinguished.
- the sociological term referring to the treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group or category. Discrimination is the actual behaviour towards another group.
- to perceive or recognise the difference.
- to treat differently on the basis of sex, religion, race, disability, sexual orientation.
There are two (2) main types of discrimination - DIRECT & INDIRECT.
Direct Discrimination is defined as the treatment of an individual to be less favourable than somebody else in a comparable situation. Direct Discrimination is also defined as the treatment of an individual to be less favourable than another on the grounds of race, gender, disability, religion & belief, and sexual orientation.
Indirect Discrimination is defined as the injury of rights of certain individuals, stemming from the rigid application of a statute or regulation. Indirect Discrimination is also defined as a rule, policy, practice or procedure that is the same for everyone, but has an unequal or disproportionate effect for a specific groups of people.
Discrimination is everywhere!
Individuals with a disability experience discrimination for a multitude of reasons - namely for physical appearance and ability.
To ensure the chances of discrimination are minimised the Federal Australian Government, created a unique piece of legislation specific for individuals with a disability.
Following suit the State Governments have also created relevant legislation in order to further protect individuals with a disability from Discrimination - this is known as the Disability Discrimination Act. For example in the state of Victoria, the Equal Opportunity Act is legislation for individuals with a disability, in Victoria, to protect their rights.
For more information click here...
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TGSI's 101 - The FACTS!
- Tactile Ground Surface Indicators are covered by the Australian/New Zealand Standard 1428.4.1:2009 and is described as a means to assist individuals with a visual impairment.
- Hazard Tactile Ground Surface Indicator's must be installed where a potential injury risk or hazard - for instance this includes, however is not limited to: a roadway, a stairway, escalators, railway platforms, bus stops, etc. - are located.
- Directional TGSI's must be installed where a change of direction is located for EXAMPLE: bus stops, traffic islands, railway platforms, etc.
- TGSI's must have a MINIMUM Luminance Contrast
reading of 30% measured against adjacent surfaces. - Tactile Ground Surface Indicators must be 4mm - 5mm in height to allow clear identification for and by individuals with visual impairments.
- When TGSI's are installed they must be installed in a manor that spans the full width of the path of travel.
- TGSI's also require: to be detectable by tactile means; to be lain in such a way that there is no likelihood of the edges lifting; to be slip resistant
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TGSI's
A Tactile Ground Surface Indicator (TGSI) serves two (2) purposes.
The first purpose is to direct individuals with a vision impairment along the safest path of travel.
This known as a directional tactile.
The second purpose is to alert individuals with a vision impairment of a potential hazard that lays ahead such as a stairway or roadway.
This is known as a Hazard tactile.
For more information or installation advice please contact ASN!
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