At lunch recently with a bunch of people I didn’t know, I was reminded again how separated we, as People with Disabilities are. I was once again fascinated by the level of basic ignorance, displayed by normal average folks, about the basic capabilities of blind people, and the various bits of kit available to them, talking watches, Voice-over on the iPhone, (and you should have seen their faces when I told them that the phone READ MORE
Category: DEI
Podcast: The Challenges of Disability Advocacy
In Season 1, Episode 1, hosts Jeremy Opperman and Jeremy Warriner of the Rotary Disability Advisers Group have a lively discussion on the challenges of disability advocacy and the need to encourage not only changes in approaches to disability rights but also to thinking. Both are members of Rotary International and they share a vision of that organisation being more inclusive for people with disabilities, Each host comes from a different perspective on the READ MORE
Jeremy Opperman appointed to Rotary’s DEI Taskforce
In September 2020, Rotary created the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) task force that is charged with shaping a comprehensive action plan with achievable, measurable and meaningful outcomes. Rotary Africa, the regional Rotary magazine, in its March 2022 edition introduced members to Jeremy.
I’m a Rotarian Podcast: Gwen Jones interviews Jeremy Opperman
Everyone knows the Rotary wheel, you’ve seen it on benches, or a school playground. But do you know any Rotarians? NO? Well, this is the podcast to fix that. Join producer and Rotarian Gwen Jones as she interviews some of the many men, women, famous or under the radar Rotarians that live all around the world. In this episode, Gwen talks to Jeremy about how he became a Rotarian, and where he sees Rotary’s Diversity, READ MORE
Is Employment Equity Still Alive?
Of course it’s still alive. But is it really, in the sense that it is effective and significant, and adhered to, let alone understood? Here’s the problem, if Employment Equity was still in the frame and being adhered to by organizations obliged to submit EE reports, then how come so many companies simply disregard basic EEA rules? It’s just happened again! I have just been informed by a nearly tearful employment agent attached to a READ MORE
To BEE or Not to EE
How BBBEE has compromised Employment Equity resulting in the marginalization of diversity’s most forgotten cousin, Disability Can Companies comply with both the Employment Equity Act (EEA) and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE)? Theoretically, one would imagine the answer would be yes, because the Department of Labour has not rescinded the EEA nor has it slackened its pressure on companies to submit their EE reports. At the same time, all companies and organizations need to in READ MORE
Disability and Recruitment: FAQ
“Companies that fail to embrace diversity, including disability, as a core business issue, are simply missing the point.” Peter Bonnfield, former CEO of British Telecom Q. Why should we bother to spend time and energy on disability recruitment? A. Three reasons: The Employment Equity Act (No 55 of 1998) requires that People with Disabilities (PWD) be given affirmative action status and are therefore a designated group which, along with race and gender, require increased employment attention. READ MORE
A Lesson in Applied Diversity
A term I have had knocking around in my mind for some time now. Applied Diversity. I nearly called my workshop by this name, but felt that one should “watch the knitting” and focus on your core business which included the name, so I settled on “Meeting Disability” instead. But the concept of applied theory or theoretical practice has always fascinated me as being logically imperative, and in fact preferable to pure theoretical activity. This READ MORE