Esi Hardy, Managing Director “From offering a foundational understanding of disability inclusion to driving strategic cultural changes within organisations, we aim to clarify and simplify the process of creating inclusive environments for disabled people,” says Hardy.
As a hybrid wheelchair user with limited dexterity in her hands due to cerebral palsy, Hardy has faced significant challenges in her career, including overt discrimination. Overcoming these setbacks, she dedicated her career to empowering disabled people, ultimately leading to the creation of Celebrating Disability.
Today, her company offers various services designed to nurture disability-inclusive cultures. These include training, consulting and conducting inclusion audits, which serve as gap analyses to identify areas for improvement. With training sessions as the cornerstone, it provides strategic guidance and internal speaking engagements focused on inclusivity and diversity. Progress is tracked through learning benchmarks set at the beginning and end of each seminar, ensuring both trainers and clients can assess growth and identify remaining knowledge gaps.
The training focuses on minimising bias by emphasising the importance of reasonable adjustments to facilitate inclusive recruitment processes. Each program is customised after in-depth discussions with clients, with every session meeting a business's specific disability inclusion goals.
The offerings makes disabled employees feel safe, encouraged and comfortable. This is particularly important in a landscape where disabled employees often lack confidence in their organisation’s ability to provide relevant and timely support. Interactive conferences mitigate this issue through open discussions and breakout spaces for real-time learning applications.
“Our work at Celebrating Disability guides businesses in creating environments where support is offered proactively, not just when disabilities are disclosed,” says Hardy.
A case in point is its engagement with Homes for Students, the UK’s largest student accommodation provider. It sought Celebrating Disability’s expertise to begin their disability inclusion journey. Acknowledging the presence of disabled individuals within their workforce but unsure how to support them, Homes for Students pursued guidance on fostering an inclusive environment where employees felt comfortable disclosing their disabilities.
Celebrating Disability responded by delivering 12 training programs specifically designed for line managers titled, ‘Supporting Disabled Employees.’ These covered key aspects of disability inclusion, such as providing appropriate workplace support, influencing inclusive behaviours among staff and facilitating open conversations about the support disabled employees needed.
“From offering a foundational understanding of disability inclusion to driving strategic cultural changes within organisations, we aim to clarify and simplify the process of creating inclusive environments for disabled people.
The training's impact was significant, with a 90 per cent increase in disability disclosure rates among their employees. Impressed by the results, Homes for Students expanded the partnership, commissioning additional training programs, a talk and e-learning materials.
Beyond training, Celebrating Disability delivers 60-90 minute talks that provide a broad overview of disability inclusion topics. These outcome-focused, collaborative engagements help participants identify their physical barriers and develop practical solutions. It also conducts inclusion audits to review employee policies and processes, from recruitment to disciplinary procedures. Following the audit, businesses receive detailed recommendations for enhancing inclusivity and accessibility.
Striving to build an inclusive future for disabled individuals, Hardy leads a team that includes Zain, the associate trainer with expertise in neurodivergence and the built environment, and Eve, an occupational therapist with a background in neurodiversity and disability rights. Kairon, the operations manager, is essential to daily operations, ensuring that Celebrating Disability continues to provide vital support to organisations striving for greater inclusion. Collectively, the three trainers use their first-hand insights to dispel misconceptions and guide businesses in creating inclusive environments.
Many businesses hesitate to prioritise disability inclusion due to a lack of identification and uncertainty about where to start. The fear of making mistakes or saying the wrong thing can be intimidating. With Celebrating Disability, organisations realise that they already have a connection to disability inclusion—they just haven’t recognised it yet.
