Empowering every voice: leaders on disability inclusion in the Indian workforce

Purpose The voice of marginal employees, particularly those with disabilities, has been significantly overlooked in considerations about work design, engagement and individual ingenuity in the current body of workforce diversity management literature. Hence, the knowledge on work experiences of employees with disabilities (EwD) remains relatively limited. Alluding to worker inclusion and involvement, this study aims to highlight how employers construe the feedback or concerns voiced by the EwD in India. Design/methodology/approach The exploratory study is based on thematic analysis of senior executives’ interpretations of what gets voiced by EwD in contemporary organizations in India. Findings The authors underscore four prominent themes derived from the way senior executives construed the voice of EwD – voice motivation: felt inequity, perceived exclusion and diffidence/distrust of their own ability to come forward as determining the extent of voice of EwD; voice content: when voiced, issues related to work-related accommodations, accessibility challenges, pay and working conditions are some of the key concerns that are expressed; voice avenues: seeking formal routes when representing shared or collective matters, whereas seeking informal routes and representation for matters that are personal and individual-based; and voice effects: voice outcomes reflected managerial subjective evaluations as well as objective interventions. Research limitations/implications The authors extend the body of knowledge on workplace diversity towards inclusion of the voice of EwD. Besides highlighting the diversity in disability, future work in this direction must explore innovative ways to draw and augment human capital as well as ingenuity towards sustainable human development. Originality/value The authors highlight significant gaps between organizations’ commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and the lived realities of EwD when they choose to voice. The authors offer important insights into employers’ engagement with the voice of EwD. The study underscores the importance of workforce DEI, enabling businesses to recognize potential skill gaps and prospective talent towards formulating suitable strategies for enabling inclusion, communication and support for marginalized talent.