Written by: Cinzia Nitti
I met Saira during my visit to the World Art Dubai 2021. The Inclusive stall and the big hashtag #IAmInclusive in the middle of artworks caught my attention – since I never got a chance to notice the “inclusive concept” in a World Art exhibition before. Let’s ask Saira Sayed, Director, Business Development, what the Inclusive App is about.
HR Revolution: Hi Saira, thanks in advance for everything you will be sharing with HR Revolution Middle East Magazine’s readers. Would you tell us what is Inclusive, its vision, and its mission? Who founded it and why?
Saira Sayed: The UAE refers to the people with disabilities as ‘People Of Determination‘ (POD) to recognize their achievements in different fields. Hafsa Qadeer conceptualized and initiated Inclusive Platform in 2019. Inclusive began in a heart and mind that views the world through the lens of equality and social justice. Learning from the journey of her brother, Ahmed Qadeer, a talented Person of Determination living with Spina Bifida, Hafsa learned through real-life experiences that any disabled person is only limited by societal, institutional, accessibility, and financial barriers. Hafsa observed her mother, a single parent, and her siblings fight for Ahmed’s right to equal emergency care during earthquake drills at school. She noticed the hardship her parents faced during hospital visits. She recognized that the first reaction of teachers, doctors, caretakers towards any activity Ahmed wanted to participate in was lined with barriers created by a stereotypical perception of people with disabilities or general lack of accessibility. She imagined a world where any single parent would never feel alone and could own means of connecting with other like-minded people anywhere in the world.
Hafsa dreamed of a world where people like her brother Ahmed recognize their abilities, talent, and skills. Day and night, she began drawing out sketches of an online hub of inclusion, a mobile app, where the world meets to action the Inclusion of People of Determination, one where she could share the view from her lens with the world. Hafsa began actively advocating for accessibility at every platform and named the app “Inclusive” in April 2019, a mobile-first pathway where each person and entity will take a personal interest in learning, actioning, and more inclusive. Hence, signing up to the App leads to people becoming more inclusive of all abilities, impacting all people’s mindset and behaviors, so each person and entity can confidently say “I am Inclusive” or “We are Inclusive.” At 24 years old, she joined the Ma’an Social Incubator in August 2019 with her Ahmed (16 years old) making it to top 10 social impact solutions for People of Determination out of 523 worldwide applications selected from the senior government judging committee of Abu Dhabi. Since then, Inclusive has been working to connect People of Determination to accessible opportunities.
Today, Inclusive is the world’s first-of-its-kind social media app for inclusion. I am proud that the teams at Inclusive App are leaders who are People Of Determination like myself from different countries.
Mission: To create the world’s most influential online platform that enables all people and businesses to create measurable impact towards the inclusion of People of Determination.
Vision: To action the inclusion of People of Determination at every platform and build a world full of equal opportunities, where people of all abilities are welcome, and accessibility is not an afterthought.
HR Revolution: Eye contact. What does it mean to you, and how do you deal with those who avoid it on purpose?
Saira Sayed: I am a Proud Person Of Determination. I live with mobility differences, and a wheelchair enables me. When I am seated in a wheelchair, people either want to stare at the “wheelchair” or turn their faces away when I speak to them or lean into my chair when speaking with me. When you talk to a person, you make eye contact that is an intrinsic part of having a conversation. When I start a conversation, but I am being talked about and not talked to, I feel incapable and frustrated even when I am present. As I faced the repeated behavior of the community, I felt myself moving into an introverted shell and didn’t want to start a conversation with anyone. I have been at Inclusive for more than a year now, and I’ve met many other People Of Determination facing the same problem. It is now my mission to ensure that I tell people that “Hey, I am right here, and I can hold the conversation with you. My wheelchair is my personal space. You don’t have to be scared of it.” Maybe, they are not aware that there is a person in the room, not just a wheelchair, a person who is capable and has abilities. I am trying to change that through one conversation at a time. Especially during my conversations with employers at Inclusive, when we speak to them about training and development, I welcome them to learn the etiquette of empowering People of Determination first.
HR Revolution: What should Organizations do to provide People of Determination with great opportunities by offering them jobs and preparing them to be entrepreneurs?
Saira Sayed: Every human being has their talents, capabilities, skills. I want the readers to ask themselves, doesn’t everyone have a diverse set of abilities too? Does that stop anyone from doing things they love? At Inclusive, we highlight the ABILITIES of People Of Determination (POD). Since joining Inclusive, I have learned that every person is recognized for their talents and abilities. People of Determination may be enabled by a wheelchair, a hearing aid, or a cane or have many different skills, but we are all equal. But when employers, recruiters, community members sometimes Person Of Determination’s family members decide that the wheelchair, that hearing aid, or the cane will define the life of a Person of Determination: that mindset shifts the way an individual is perceived. I request the employers to look into how they are hiring people. Shouldn’t skills be the deciding factor for employment? I ask the employers to contact Inclusive to learn about Accessibility Accommodations, how easy it is to integrate POD if an employer considers giving talent accommodations to fulfill their work requirements. Once people are given environments to thrive at work, they begin to believe in themselves. They learn that they can accomplish great things and even start their own businesses with experience and passion.
HR Revolution: How does Inclusive help People of Determination to detect, improve and empower their skills and consequently reach a more independent life?
Saira Sayed: Inclusive has a pool of Talented Candidates who are People Of Determination, one of my roles at Inclusive is also to match-make a candidate for a job role, this involves having an in-depth conversation with the Candidate in the presence of an Expert. These conversations with the Candidates have made me realize that People of Determination do not lack motivation. Still, there is a lack of guidance on how to work on themselves constantly. Sometimes, and I say this from my own experience, a POD doesn’t want to work on themselves because they now believe no one will hire them. The team at Inclusive ensures that POD are constantly engaged in learning new things through Inclusive‘s career-building approach fit for every individual. Additionally, through the Inclusive App, People of Determination build their profiles, they can share “I am Proud to be a Person of Determination” on their personal profiles, beginning the journey from claiming their identity to becoming the best version of themselves.
HR Revolution: How do you help People of Determination getting a job?
Saira Sayed: We have an app through which all recruiters and all Candidates can connect, post jobs, apply for jobs, and empower organizations to automate posting of jobs accessible for all.
HR Revolution: Do you consider Empathetic Leadership as one of the most needed approaches nowadays?
Saira Sayed: I strongly feel that a good leader actively practices empathy in leadership. I am sharing that only from my experience at Inclusive, where all volunteers, team members, and people are actively taught to lead with heart and practice emotional intelligence at work. In my life experience before Inclusive, I noticed that empathy for people of determination was confused with sympathy. There is a genuine difference between empathy and sympathy, and leaders who get this lead with teams that follow their advice.
Thanks, Saira, for sharing with us your mission and message. We look forward to collaborating to spread your message! HR Revolution Middle East Magazine declares its commitment to Inclusive’s impact to improve a More Accessible and Equal work place for People of Determination.
#WeAreInclusive