International Wheelchair User Day is a day that celebrates the strength and determination of wheelchair users worldwide. It’s a day to acknowledge the challenges they face and the triumphs they achieve, often against considerable odds.
As an employee-owned organisation and a real focus on diversity and inclusivity, at Baxendale, we put the wellbeing of our partners, as we call them, at the heart of how we work together.
Our Senior Bids Manager Debbie Oxberry is an experienced Business Development and Bid Manager with over 30 years of experience in health and social care, and we are proud to have her on board. International Wheelchair User Day is particularly important to her as she uses one herself.
“I have worked in various sectors and have even run my own consultancy. Yet, in every job application, I face an added challenge – I am a wheelchair user. Regardless of how well I do my job, some employers see my wheelchair as an insurmountable obstacle. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Baxendale do not see my wheelchair as a barrier but as a testament to my resilience. My reasonable adjustments? Joining team meetings remotely. That’s it.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people. This statistic is even worse for wheelchair users. On International Wheelchair User Day, let’s challenge these statistics. Let’s push for more inclusive workplaces and a world where being a wheelchair user is not seen as a barrier, but as a testament to strength and determination.
