Employment advocacy success in Bangladesh

Congratulations go to two self-advocates, and the Down Syndrome Society of Bangladesh (DSSB) who supported them, who have been offered employment following their Inclusive Employment advocacy campaign.

“People with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities are neglected in society in many ways, including employment. This requires awareness, motivation, planned initiatives and realistic long-term planning at the family, social and state level.”

Sardar A. Razzak, Chairman of DSSB

DSi has been supporting DSSB and their self-advocacy group to advocate for inclusive employment. We provided training on human rights and self-advocacy and then provided guidance as they planned employment advocacy work.

Read about this project here:

EMPLOYMENT ADVOCACY - BANGLADESH

Earlier this month the DSSB team organised an 'Inclusive Employment' workshop to raise awareness among employers.

The chief guest was Professor Md. Golam Rabbani, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Neuro-Developmental Disability Protection. Professor Rabbani highlighted the various initiatives taken by the government and called for effective coordination and mutual cooperation between the government and OPD organisations in ensuring inclusive employment of people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities.

The workshop was chaired by Professor. Hakim Arif, founding chairperson of the Department of Communication Disabilities, University of Dhaka. Professor Arif called for the country's industrialists to unite on this goal, "Everyone must come forward together".

At the end of the workshop, Japan Bangladesh Friendship Hospital, a renowned hospital in the country, hired two individuals with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities. They will be joining an internship program in the hospital soon.

This is a huge success and we will follow the careers of these individuals with interest.

Inclusive employment case study

In 2021 we published the Case Study on Best Practices in the Inclusive Employment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in Bangladesh.

This case study investigates the barriers that persons with intellectual disabilities face in Bangladesh in finding and retaining inclusive employment and highlights good practices in providing an inclusive and accessible work environment.

The case study finishes with recommendations for the government of Bangladesh and employers, including measures to prevent discrimination, incentivise employment in the private sector, and train the workforce to create inclusive environments for persons with intellectual disabilities and all other employees.

Download the full document here:

INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT CASE STUDY (PDF)

WATCH THE LAUNCH WEBINAR

Get involved

We would like to share information and updates from our employment project with you. From supporting individuals with Down syndrome and organisations to advocate for inclusive employment, to helping employers hire people with Down syndrome.

Please sign up here:

SIGN UP FOR EMPLOYMENT UPDATES

Our work: Employment

Read more about our inclusive employment work here:

INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT