It’s not often that an employee works across the whole company.
And Ben Clare is keen for everyone to know that fact.
As Disability Inclusion Advisor at Aspen Medical, Ben’s excited about the difference this new position can make.
‘One minute I can be working with Marketing, then Occupational Health and Safety, or the Aspen Medical Foundation. I’m across varied activities or projects making sure, for example, that the website is accessible for those with a disability, that it works with screen readers, and that the photographs are described.’
Why is this important?
‘As much as fifteen per cent of the world’s population has a disability,’ Ben says.
‘So, if we can employ more of these individuals, that brings huge benefits to a workplace and to society in general.’
Ben’s job is to maximise disability inclusion, both internally and externally at Aspen Medical, amongst employees, employers, and customers. ‘If you don’t have a disability inclusive product or strategy, you can miss out on a potential market.
‘A Disability Inclusion Advisor is a relatively unique position. Not many workplaces are fortunate enough to have one. Amongst companies, the banking sector seems to be leading the way.
‘It’s an exciting role and one that mirrors my own life experience.’
How so?
Says Ben, ‘It’s impossible to predict how this role will evolve and what I’ll end up doing.’
Born blind, due to a genetic condition, Ben knows about the issues of disability first-hand.
His first school was one for the blind.
He’s learnt to read and write braille – no easy task - and now uses computers with screen-reading software.
After graduating from a regular high school, Ben was a journalist at the Daily Telegraph for seven years. For the last 20 years, he’s been working in the international development sector. Ten of those years have been at Aspen Medical.
Ben’s career is diverse.
He’s worked in a school for the blind in Papua New Guinea, in a rehabilitation centre in East Timor, and has taught braille and computer skills in Vanuatu, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands.
‘Being blind myself, I know the issues.
He usually travels alone, saying, ‘Those who are blind from birth tend to be quite independent.’
‘I use a white cane and people are usually friendly.
But there can be challenges. ‘Helpful airport staff sometimes think I’m terminally ill, being blind, and treat me with great sympathy, sometimes to the point of crying. Market vendors and members of the public can stop and stare as I approach their stall or enter their store.
‘Then there are teachers, families with children with disability, and government ministers who treat me with immense respect. They genuinely seek my advice on disability-related matters and often put that advice into action.’
Ben says that ‘even at the most challenging times, there is little hostility, just curiosity.’
While he says the best part of his job at Aspen Medical ‘is the lovely people I’m working with’, the hardest part is ‘implementing anything that is difficult, as people are very busy. I need to bring the importance of the disability issue to people, to make sure it remains relevant and useful.’
He also needs to ensure that any change he’s proposing fits in with the budget and company direction.
Having said that, Ben thoroughly enjoys this work, which still provides him with regular overseas travel.
‘My next trip is to Nauru, where I’ll run some training at the Ministry of Education.
Ben’s work is his passion. He’s so keen about changing the lives of those with a disability that he once set up a Go Fund Me page. ‘I see people with great potential and want them to have the same opportunities as I did.’
One of those people was vision-impaired Simon, from a village in the PNG highlands. When Simon was unable to get a government grant, Ben stepped in and gave him $1,000 to set up a convenience store.
‘The money let Simon start up his own business, which is now successful, and Aspen Medical provided him with a laptop so that he could do the accounts. It’s turned his life, and that of his wife and children, around.
‘People with a disability can’t get a loan as they have no assets.
‘I’m really grateful for this chance, to share my knowledge and experiences, and help initiate change.
‘We want to be known as a fully inclusive disability company at Aspen Medical.
‘Disability inclusion is not just something that’s morally right. It also makes sense in every aspect, from economics to productivity.’