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How to make your work more disability inclusive

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No more excuses – take the next step.

Our Top 10 Excuses Countdown highlights some of the reasons given when people with disabilities are excluded from global development policies and programmes. With all the evidence and resources available, no one in the humanitarian or development sectors should claim ‘we don’t do disability’ and exclude 16% of the world’s population in our work.

Inclusive Futures will continue to collect evidence of what works, as well as what doesn’t, and share what we learn with the wider development community – join us in creating a more inclusive society.

 

Watch: Top 10 Excuses Countdown
Comedian Adam Hills presents a round-up of the top excuses for not including people with disabilities in development and humanitarian programmes.

If it’s not inclusive, it’s not effective

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Read the available evidence

To see how existing evidence on disability inclusion in policy and programming can inform your work, visit the Disability Inclusion Helpdesk funded by Inclusive Futures. The research and advice it provides to the FCDO ranges from family planning for women with disabilities to inclusive humanitarian programming.
Visit the helpdesk

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Explore the disability data

An estimated 15% of the world’s population has a disability. The collection of disability data is improving, and evidence has shown the huge impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities, so it’s more important than ever that our work is inclusive. Find out more on Leonard Cheshire's disability data portal.
Visit the portal

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Create a disability-confident workplace

If we want our work to be disability inclusive, our workplaces should be too – find guidance on making your organisation more inclusive from the inside out with our disability-confident employers’ toolkit, covering everything from accessible communication to inclusive hiring practices.
Explore the toolkit

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Need more convincing?

Disability inclusion is the right thing to do, and it’s our collective responsibility. Read more on the costs of exclusion and benefits of inclusion in this report published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, co-authored by CBM and the International Centre for Evidence in Disability.
Read the report

"I am completely shocked": why development must change

Read Lorraine's opinion

Useful resources

For everyone:

• For the latest information across all sectors, the Disability Debrief is a great monthly round-up that you can subscribe to
• Visit our evidence and research page for advice and information, from labour market assessments to our disability inclusion helpdesk
• Want to share our Top 10 Excuses Countdown on social media? Our social media toolkit contains assets, example post and accessibility tips

For the development sector:

• Our paper, A disability-inclusive response to COVID-19, contains advice on how to include people with disabilities in humanitarian aid. An easy read version is also available
• Our report, Consequences of Exclusion, looks at the role of organisations of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges they faced
• Read about how the marginalised and disadvantaged position of many people with disabilities in low and middle income countries has been exacerbated by the pandemic in Disability Studies Quarterly
• Find a wealth of collected resources in Learning4Impact’s Inclusion toolkits database
• Sightsavers' accessibility standards  provide guidance to make healthcare facilities inclusive
• The Age and Disability consortium has developed Humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities
• The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shares data and evidence on its disability evidence portal 
• ADD International has produced a paper on the value of mainstreaming

For grantmakers and the philanthropic sector:

• The Ford Foundation’s Funder guidance and case studies for disability-inclusive grantmaking is a good resource for how to promote an inclusive grant and provides guidance for building disability portfolios

For companies, business leaders, HR executives and property managers:

• Our inclusive employers' toolkit contains practical guidance to make it easier for leaders, HR executives and property managers to foster inclusive workspaces
• The CDC provides guidance on Disability inclusion for companies

What works to include people with disabilities?

Evidence and resources

Inclusive Futures are specialists and global leaders in disability and development from more than 20 global organisations.

Our partners