Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56535
Spotlight Diversity Includes Disabilities Many academic and corporate diversity programs address the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the workplace. But few address educating or hiring more peo- ple with disabilities. Grenoble Ecole de Man- agement in Paris has launched an initiative to address "handi- management," which refers to employers' efforts to attract, accommodate, and benefit from the skills of persons with disabilities. Fol- lowing the slogan "Difference is not a disability," Grenoble's initiative aims to increase educational oppor- tunities for the disabled and raise awareness of the challenges they face. As part of the initiative, Grenoble has created study tracks for students with disabilities. Ten Grenoble stu- dents also recently participated in the "handi-management project" compe- tition, a French educational program aimed at raising awareness. In March, the students organized a weeklong event that included a film festival and an "eating in the dark" dinner to show sighted individuals what it's like to be blind. Part of the initiative is a 12-week sign-language course for business students, taught by English profes- sor Nancy Armstrong-Benetto. "We teach Japanese, Chinese, and other languages," she says. "Why wouldn't we want to teach future managers how to communicate more effectively with the deaf?" Sign language also provides stu- 72 BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2009 Business students at Grenoble Ecole de Management take a course in sign language and deaf culture as part of the school's handi- management initiative. "Sign language helps managers learn self- awareness and control over their actions and managers learn self-awareness and control over their actions and facial expressions." Grenoble has added a human facial expressions." —Nancy Armstrong-Benetto dents with more insight into what Armstrong-Benetto calls "intercul- tural management." The culture of the deaf and hard-of-hearing is much different from that of those without a hearing impairment. For that reason, students in the course also learn about deaf culture, including the different ways deaf people express humor and show emotion. Moreover, she adds, sign language helps hearing students improve their communication skills on a larger scale. "Sign language involves a cer- tain way of positioning your body in time and space," she says. "It helps resources course that addresses legis- lation involving handi-management, formed a task force that is work- ing on disability issues, and held a recruitment drive to enroll students with disabilities. It plans to launch an intranet resource site for students with disabilities in November 2009. In 2005, the French government instituted legislation that requires companies to ensure that disabled individuals make up at least 6 per- cent of their workforces. Yet, only 12 percent of disabled people in France have a college degree. Grenoble hopes to change that through this initiative, says its dean Thierry Grange. The new curricu- lum is essential, he adds, to "allow students, regardless of their health or social background, to pursue man- agement studies." ■ z