Subject: FW: Business Week AT article
From: "Cheryl Wissick " <cwissick@sc.edu>
Subject: Business Week AT article
Date: Wed, Oct 20, 1999, 12:04 PM
Business Week ONLINE DAILY BRIEFING
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
by John M. Williams
October 20, 1999
Gates's Play for the Disabled Market Is More Than PR
Microsoft, host of the 22nd Business Consortium on Disability
Issues next
week, is showing good business sense
There goes Microsoft again, reinforcing its image as the big,
bad bully
of the high-tech world. What to make of a company that, according
to
recent press reports, ham-handedly tried to pressure Congress
into
cutting funding for its courtroom nemesis -- the Justice Dept.'s
Antitrust Div. -- in the middle of litigation? No wonder they
call it the
Colossus of Redmond.
But hold on. Next week, Microsoft will host the National Business
&
Disability Council's 22nd Annual Conference at its Washington
State
headquarters. On Oct. 25, Chairman Bill Gates will deliver the
keynote
address. Just a public relations gambit from a company that needs
the
help right now? Not at all.
Gates will announce the Able-to-Work Consortium -- a nationwide
drive by major U.S. corporations to increase the employment of
people
with disabilities. Joining this effort are Merrill Lynch, Aetna,
Ford
Motor, Bell Atlantic, AT&T, Metropolitan Life Insurance, Caterpillar,
Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Citicorp, TWA, Dow Chemical, and Marriott.
Microsoft is creating a litmus test for just how committed Corporate
America is to the disabled, both as employees and collectively
as a
market. It's a gamble -- and I think it will pay off.
The consortium will set up an interactive Web site where companies
can look at the resumés of job seekers from the disabled
community.
The site will also feature job postings. Users must have at least
two
years of post-high school education or training. In addition,
each
company in the group will invest up to $5,000 in a PC workstation
customized with assistive technology for disabled workers.
WORTHY EFFORT. Other companies will be the target audience
for the
conference. Most of the presenters will be execs from major
corporations who will share their success stories, strategies,
and, in
some cases, failures in the disability employment field. It's
an effort
that Corporate America should be rightly proud of.
If I were writing Gates's speech and addressing business leaders
who
make a difference in employing disabled people, here's what I
would
emphasize:
--America has changed for the better since the Americans with
Disabilities Act became law on July 26, 1990. We are a more open,
tolerant society when it comes to a barrier-free environment for
disabled people. But we still have a long way to go.
--More than 10 million disabled people of working age are jobless.
That number is way too high. It's also too costly to the American
taxpayer, who must subsidize jobless disabled people. Businesses
must
take a lead in reducing the hundreds of billions of dollars spent
yearly
by federal, state, and local governments to keep disabled people
dependent rather than independent. The disabled want to work,
if
business will just give them a chance.
--There is a need to fill a critical labor shortage, not just
in these
prosperous times, but in the future. Disabled people could help
reduce
this shortage. Effective strategies for educating and training
the
disabled must be pursued, so that they enter the workforce with
as
much potential as possible.
--Assistive technology products are making it possible for
the disabled
to compete in every sector of the economy. Such technology can
and
must be used in hiring, training, and promoting people with
disabilities.
The participants will see demonstrations of a wide array of
assistive
technology products -- voice-input systems, on-screen keyboards,
augmentative communications devices. These products break down
barriers and put the disabled on equal footing with other workers.
If I
were a Microsoft presenter, I would demonstrate the company's
accessibility features for Windows 2000 -- a cutting-edge product
when it comes to assistive technology.
Participants will learn of the successes other businesses have
had in
focusing on the disabled in advertising campaigns, marketplace
access,
and customer services. They will learn how accommodating people
with disabilities can benefit everyone in the workplace. They'll
learn
how products and services designed for a select market improve
a
manufacturer's market share. They'll also learn how a diverse
workforce, including qualified people with disabilities, strengthens
the
company and can enhance corporate values. And they will learn
how a
partnership of industry, government, and disability organizations
can
develop guidelines and tools to improve underlying technologies
on
the Web.
Finally, if I were planning this three-day conference, I'd
make sure the
enthusiastic spirit of Bill Gates is be carried into every meeting.
It's not
a mask. Gates truly believes in this effort. I know firsthand.
The participants should leave with an indelible impression
that finding
the best employees in a tight labor market requires innovative
recruiting, insightful interviewing, and targeted testing. They
should be
as fiercely determined in their efforts to make the consortium
successful as Microsoft is in its business endeavors.
GOOD EXAMPLE. Gates's personal involvement in employing disabled
people establishes an example for all corporate leaders to emulate.
This
isn't just public relations. It's a major business commitment.
Why?
Because Gates sees a consumer market in products, and he knows
the
intrinsic value disabled employees give to Microsoft.
Microsoft has a good reputation for employing disabled people.
The
commitment comes directly from the top. Gates decided to include
accessibility features into his software, and it is paying off
for
Microsoft, both financially and from a public relations standpoint.
He's
showing himself to be a market-driven leader and socially conscious
visionary. He placing his prestige on the line.
He's not alone. On Oct. 16, President Bill Clinton initiated
Accessing
Opportunities, a plan to increase the federal government's efforts
to
recruit people with disabilities. The President and Gates are
recognizing the abilities of disabled workers. When the world's
most
powerful and political and business leaders espouse the same message,
it's time for everyone in the public and private sectors to remove
their
blinders and turn up their hearing aids. I hope America gets the
message.
The conference is open to the public. For information, call
Jennifer
Rogers at (516) 465-1514, or you can register online at
www.business-disability.com.
John Williams writes a weekly column for Business Week Online.
For
answers on assistive technology questions, write to him at
JMMAW@aol.com
EDITED BY DOUGLAS HARBRECHT