EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT... Accessibility
On 12 November, Purple Tuesday will urge business to serve disabled consumers better – and so unlock their spending power. Leaders explain why they’re backing the campaign
work together to provide them with the best possible services and facilities.
I am also proud that we’ve joined the Valuable 500, a group of employers committed to putting disability inclusion on their leadership agendas. More subtle ways in which we improve accessibility include providing basic training for the club’s staff in British Sign Language (BSL). I took the course myself and found it enjoyable and inspirational. I believe there’s great value in learning BSL, not only for communication purposes but also for gaining a deeper understanding of the everyday challenges facing deaf people.
BARONESS KARREN BRADY OF KNIGHTSBRIDGE Vice-chairman, West Ham United Football Club
E
quality is at the heart of everything we do at West Ham United. It fl ows
from the board’s agenda through all facets of the club. Ensuring that we are accessible to everyone is an embedded way of thinking throughout the organisation.
West Ham United’s disabled supporters’ board (DSB) –
14
director.co.uk
whose meetings with the club I chair along with two supporters representing both wheelchair users and ambulant supporters – has led the way on this important subject since we moved to London Stadium in 2016. Dedicated and driven, the DSB regularly challenges the club to keep making improvements for disabled supporters. The mission is to
On Purple Tuesday last year we invited a group of students with a range of disabilities to our stadium store as part of a work-experience partnership. We have also introduced initiatives to improve the store experience for all customers. These include training for the staff in how best to serve disabled shoppers; improving the accessibility of its lift, toilets and till points; and offering a mobility service between the store and Westfi eld Stratford City. We’ll proudly support Purple Tuesday again this November. We’ll soon be announcing our plans for the day, which will continue to raise awareness of this great campaign.
For advice from Baroness
Brady on embedding equality as part of your organisation’s culture, visit
director.co.uk
It’s estimated that the purple pound – the term given to the spending power of disabled people and their families – is worth £249 billion a year in the UK and rising by an average of 14 per cent annually.
£249bn
PURPLE TUESDAY
Inaugurated last year as an international awareness day, Purple Tuesday encourages all organisations to serve disabled consumers and their families better – and thereby open up a market segment with an estimated global spending power of £2.25 trillion.
The brainchild of the Purple company, led by IoD member Mike Adams, Purple Tuesday notes that fewer than 10 per cent of businesses have a targeted plan to court the so-called purple pound. With founding commercial partners including Argos, Asda, Barclays and Sainsbury’s, the initiative calls on other organisations to participate by making a public commitment to making at least one sustainable improvement to their accessibility.
purpletuesday.org.uk
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