How did we end up with mice? Ease of use, proving the old secretary's adage, "The boss couldn't type, thus the point-and-click mouse was born." 

IBM has gone several steps beyond the boss's handicap. They address disabilities of sight, hearing, cognition, and mobility. That's why the Employer of the Year 2008 award has been given to IBM by India's Government. The award recognizes companies which empower people who have disabilities. The national award was presented by Indian Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari. 

The Indian census of 2001 categorized 21,906,769 persons with disabilities. Their handicaps included visual, speech, hearing, locomotor, and mental. Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of individuals so classified.  Delhi recorded 235,886 and Karnataka 940,643.

Disability World, a webzine, wrote: "In India, there are about 700,000 persons with disability registered with the employment exchanges. Of these, 100,000 persons with disabilities have been successful in getting employment. Of these, 90% have locomotor impairments, about 5 % are hearing impaired and the remaining 5% have visual impairments, ranging from partial vision to total blindness. One can infer from these findings, that for whatever reasons, employers prefer to recruit a person with locomotor disability than those with hearing or sight disabilities." 

Since then, India has become increasingly aware of, and proactive in, the disabled community, especially in the electronics arena. Techshare India  held in Autumn 2008 displayed products such as an electronic screen reader, Braille display keyboards, digital talking pens, and an electronic wheelchair, all geared to make technology accessible and useful to blind, deaf, and mobility challenged individuals.

"Accessibility" is the word used to describe successful access to information and use of information technology by people who have disabilities. In winter 2007, IBM opened its IBM India Human Ability and Accessibility Centre  in New Delhi. IBM has developed Easy Web Browsing, for the visually impaired; WebAdopt2Me, for people with cognitive impairments or low vision, and IBM aDesigner, disability simulator. 

The technology company, originally known as International Business Machines, claims to have hired its first disabled employee in 1914, almost eight decades before the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

One example of IBM's commitment to disabled persons is its explanatory piece, Understanding Disability Issues When Designing Web Sites which explains that blind persons need text to describe the images on screen, and keyboards instead of a mouse because it requires hand-eye coordination.

Deaf persons need visuals to replace or supplement auditory parts of the message. Mobility impaired people need switches, and media that is easy to handle and insert. Cognitive problems can be helped with consistent design and simplified language. They suggest using a template that can be reused on each page.

Developer guidelines at the IBM Centre include accessibility for Java, Lotus Notes, hardware, software, and documentation. 

It is obvious that in today's technology-driven employment arena, IBM's attempts to level the playing field for those with both hearing and seeing problems are commendable. They are deserving of the award conferred by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in India, which strives for an inclusive world community by encouraging companies to recognize and provide mainstream employment for the disabled.  X

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