NPC Croatia and Qohubs driving diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace

NPC Croatia and the group learning platform provider Qohubs teamed up to drive social change and awareness in the workplace. Over the next two years, they will work together on offerings for companies that showcase missed opportunities with the goal to make better workplaces, and ultimately, better societies.

Around 15% of the world's population lives with a disability, making them the biggest minority group. Yet, when discussing diversity and inclusion measures in the workplace, this fact is often neglected. Even though progress has been made in the last years towards diversity and inclusion, only 4% of companies consider disability in their initiatives, according to a report from the Return on Disability Group.

This results in various missed opportunities. As employees, people with a disability can ease talent shortages and add to the organisational diversity that drives better decision-making and innovation. On the other hand, there is a great opportunity in the unserved market. As consumers, they represent much more than 15% of the disposable income. Yet, when considering and innovating new products and services, the unique needs of people with disabilities are rarely considered.

To address this situation, the National Paralympic Committee Croatia and Qohubs are teaming up to help change perspectives and build a shared common understanding of this issue. Their ultimate goal is to design an equal organisation and society.

"People are often unaware of the tremendous creativity of people with disabilities," said NPC Croatia President Ratko Kovacic. "For example, when we talk about Paralympic athletes, in their minds, there isn't 'I can't do this!' It is a question of how to overcome some hurdles and focus on their abilities rather than disabilities. Imagine what such an attitude can bring added value for any company."

Dijana Vetturelli, the CEO of  qohubs, added: "Admiration is often a word I hear when it comes to Paralympic athletes. When talking to athletes, what they want is to be seen as a person, as an athlete, as employee, and this is a shift in thinking which we can now in this partnership reach – fast and scalable – and provoke fundamental changes in organisations around the globe." 

Representatives of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) also hailed the initiative.

"This is a remarkable initiative, which deserves to be widely shared," said Sophie Hertfelder, IPC's Membership Engagement Co-ordinator. "NPC Croatia demonstrates the concrete application of the IPC vision to 'Make for an inclusive world through Para sport'."

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