Paralympic gold medallist, Annabelle Williams is hoping to influence corporate Australia in changing the face of disability. Williams who is legal counsel for the Australian Olympic Committee has contributed to the first Diversity Council of Australia (DCA) podcast, The Art of Inclusion.
The podcast scrutinises the lives of people who face wider social issues in the community, including those with disability. People living with disability experience almost double the unemployment rate of their fellow Australians and are often stereotyped either as victims or as an inspiration. However, Williams believes it is important they are not viewed as victims.
“People with disabilities often overcome adversity and have gone on to achieve fabulous things in the face of that adversity,” she told F2L. “People can learn a lot from them and, invariably have skills desired by employers, such as resilience, perseverance, and problem solving.”
Williams wants to see a bigger community of people with a disability trying to affect change, something she feels is currently lacking in businesses around the country.
“As a person with a disability I hope my colleagues and other people with whom I work see that my disability does not affect my productivity or impact negatively in any way. I am fortunate to have done some work with the DCA in terms of promoting people with a disability in the work force. I am also chair of the Australian Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Commission and I have recently joined the Board of the Australian Paralympic Committee. In these capacities I also like to influence corporate Australia and sponsors of the Australian Paralympic Committee are great advocates in this regard.”
Over six episodes, the podcast reveals stories of politicians, journalists, athletes and executives with advice on how to master The Art of Inclusion. The podcast and is available on iTunes, Spotify and Whooshkaa.
To review the podcast go to: https://soundcloud.com/user-857235505/episode-6-willing-and-able-the-art-of-inclusion/s-5om57
Or include a link to https://www.dca.org.au/perspectives/podcasts