Kuwait – Zain Group announces the launch of its far-sighted Disability Inclusion initiative, WE ABLE, which is set to position Zain as being Disability Inclusive by 2022.
Supporting the program is Zain’s entry as a signatory into the International Labor Organization (ILO) Global Business and Disability Network Charter, where as a member of the Network, Zain is committing to a groupwide plan. Zain’s emphasis will be the development of an implementation plan that will act as a framework to guide the integration of people with disability into the company and include them in all facets of Zain’s policies and culture.
According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA), the unemployment rate in the MENA region for people with disabilities is as high as 86% for females and 66% for males. This high unemployment rate indicated to Zain’s management the requirement to establish a clear framework to address the deficiency, while also highlighting the massive opportunity for the company to recruit people with disabilities to be part of Zain’s 6,000 talented workforce.
WE ABLE is the brainchild of Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO, Bader Al-Kharafi, complementing the company’s Gender Diversity and Inclusion program. The immediate aim of the Disability Inclusion initiative is to achieve the following:
- Increase the number of people who suffer with disabilities within the Zain workforce by 2022
- Ensure all training programs are Disability Inclusive by 2022
- Guarantee that accessibility across all Zain touchpoints are Disability Inclusive by 2022
- Identify innovative and assistive technologies enabling more people with disabilities to join the company and succeed
