THE REAL GAMESAlong with the rest of the country, Corporate Ireland has responded to the 2003 Special Olympic World Games. Without sponsorship from the business sector, it would have been difficult to raise the €34 million cash and the significant in-kind services required.
Accordingly, I hope all the sponsors get the business benefits and product exposure they require from this participation and will continue to support Special Olympics and its athletes.
However, let us not get all warm and woolly about Corporate Ireland.
These sponsorships do not represent a wondrous awakening on their part to the collective needs of people with disability.
A permanent and deep-seated shift in corporate policy is needed: a codicil to their mission statements where an awareness of the needs of people with disability is recognised, meaningfully.
For example, Bank of Ireland, which is the premier sponsor, has put its full corporate weight behind this support. Their series of TV ads are mini- masterpieces of cinematography. Their radio adverts use language elegantly and eloquently, and their printed messages show sensitivity and creativity.
Instead of exploiting, they complement the Special Olympics by helping to publicise the primary message with respect and without swamping it with corporate guff.
Internally, they have rallied their staff to support and contribute.
This is a brilliantly managed sponsorship of a single event. It will be used for years in marketing and PR courses around the country to illustrate how to do it properly.
However, in response to questions about their overall policy on disability issues, Mr David Holden, head of Group Corporate Communications, said: "Ironically, our sponsorship of the Special Olympics has underlined the whole area of disability and the issues surrounding it for us. Since our involvement with the Olympics we've had to take a hard look at ourselves and we've become considerably more conscious that we're not doing as much as we could."
How many people with disability are currently employed by Bank of Ireland?
"We have no organisational objective of maintaining statistics that tell us the proportion of our people who are able-bodied or otherwise. This is in keeping with our vision of a workplace where individuals are valued for their contribution, regardless of the similarities or differences they may bring."
Noble corporate language indeed, but the sentiment expressed only becomes meaningful if they can demonstrate that their environment supports the inclusive needs of everyone.
Without compliance with current legislation for employment, people with a disability are effectively barred from enjoying the benefits of working in Bank of Ireland.
Currently, the bank has adapted 70 per cent of their offices to assist customers and clients but this does not fulfil the employment regulations on disability.
Active steps are required to support people with disability to get work within the bank.
"Certainly, that's true," said Mr Holden, "but it's also down to finding a suitable role for people with disability within our organisation."
And had they consulted experts in that area?
"We did have an equality officer but that role has been re-absorbed by the human resources department," he said.
"However, we have recently started working with Access Ability, a company we contacted following the Ability '03 conference that was hosted by the Aisling Foundation. Their strategic objective is to maximise the employment opportunities for people with disabilities."
Bank of Ireland represents the more enlightened organisations doing business here and even their attitude leaves a lot to be desired.
Until the corporate environment stops paying lip-service to equality issues we will continue to have approximately 80 per cent unemployment within the broad community of people with disability. This, together with poverty and isolation, are part of a long list of ways we ostracise people with disability from mainstream Ireland.
Feminist language uses the imagery of a "glass ceiling" to point out the discrimination faced by women in their pursuit of career advancement.
People with disability face a craggy rockface that needs to be scaled before managing to get a foothold on the bottom rung of the career-ladder.
However, our pragmatic business world should begin to realise that their stakeholders appreciate authenticity.
Companies, big and small, who voluntarily reassess their complacent attitudes will not only satisfy their stakeholders, they will be our heroes.