#WeThe15 at Atos
Today marks the launch of #WeThe15 by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the largest campaign ever of its kind focused on disability visibility and inclusion.
It is a long-running campaign focused on bringing about systemic change over the course of a decade. At Atos, we are proud to be the Worldwide IT Partner of the IPC since 2008, and I have always been proud of our involvement and support of the Paralympic movement.
#Wethe15 is important because whilst 15% or more of the global population has lived experience of disability, many times people with disabilities are not visible in public life. Frequently people choose to hide their disabilities for fear that they may be discriminated against either consciously or unconsciously. It goes without saying that this needs to change.
As an organization, Atos has committed in its raison d’être and as part of its corporate social responsibility programs to inclusion, and as the Head of Accessibility and Digital Inclusion programs globally, I coordinate the work of many of our colleagues to build disability inclusion into our own systems and processes, offerings and most importantly our culture here at Atos.
In fact, facilitating and encouraging cultural change is a cornerstone of the work that we do as part of our programme: An inclusive culture is one where everyone can fulfil their full potential and participate fully in the life of our company.
Atos has founded and expanded an employee resource group (ERG) called Atos Adapt for people with disabilities and their allies which now has over 600 members.
I am incredibly proud of having sponsored and co-founded this community. I am open about my disabilities and have been lucky with Atos to have found a culture that allows me and my fellow members of Adapt to promote a culture where people feel safe and supported to do the same.
In fact in the UK where Atos adapt began our track record of enabling a disability inclusive culture, recently helped us to be recognized as a Disability Confident Leader by the UK government.
During #WeThe15 in 2021 we will be expanding our Atos Adapt ERG to become a global community supporting our colleagues with disabilities and their allies. This will be supported by our employee engagement program #WeAreAtos that engages across territories and organizational units.
We’ll be sharing stories across social media and coming together and we encourage you to join us there.
By Neil Milliken
Posted on: August 19, 2021