Madrid | March 5, 2021
Next Monday, March 8, International Women's Day, sponsored by the United Nations, will be celebrated this year under the slogan "Women leaders: for an equal future in the world of COVID-19". The coronavirus health crisis, which is now also social and economic, has put at risk many social and labor rights related to equality, even more so when we refer to the situation of women with disabilities.
According to data from the Observatory on Disability and the Labor Market in Spain, the double discrimination between women and disability affects 750,000 women with disabilities, who have an activity rate of only 33.6% and an unemployment rate of 25%. Moreover, compared to women without disabilities, their annual salary is 15.5% lower.
That is why access to quality employment for women with disabilities is a priority for social organizations such as Envera, which through its Job Placement Service trains, prepares and guides future workers so that they can access the labor market. A challenge that is often not easy due to the prejudices that still weigh on disability, especially intellectual disabilities.
In fact, with this sheltered and supported employment, Envera's technicians point out that "not only is it possible to reduce inequality between men and women with and without disabilities, but also to break down stereotypes to promote equal opportunities for all people".
This is the case of Marjorie Batallas, a 22-year-old young woman who combines her university degree in Spanish Sign Language and Deaf Community with her job at Aperitivos La Real. Thanks to Envera's support and the company's commitment, Marjorie gained her first work experience, which, as she herself points out, helps her to "meet people, become financially independent, learn new skills and save" for the better future that all young people dream of.
And with the courage that his last name, Batallas, must carry, he sends an important message to companies that do not hire people with disabilities: "I would tell them to take heart, because sometimes having a disability does not mean that it prevents you from doing things. I can work, act like the rest of the people and not with impediments."
Belén Ribota works with Envera as a clerk in the Logistics and Customs Department of Iberia, a company that for 43 years has been supporting the social and labor inclusion of people with disabilities through Envera's social projects. Learning from her colleagues and being able to finance her studies in International Trade are the keys for this 23-year-old disabled woman to be able to work.
"Everyone can, if we want to". With these words Mari Carmen Agudiez, 26, sums up her experience in customer service work and as one of the latest additions to the Envera cleaning team at Iberia Express headquarters. Together with her colleagues, Mari Carmen is an example of professionalism and quality in one of the activities that is proving crucial in the fight against the coronavirus.
Marjorie, Belén and Mari Carmen agree that working allows them to be independent and to consolidate a decent future in which they can continue to develop professionally.
These three young women with disabilities have got a job in the middle of the pandemic thanks to the job placement projects which Envera develops with the support of ENAIRE and Airbus, which together with the above reflect the commitment of the companies to inclusion and equality, especially on the part of the companies of the aeronautical sector which, in spite of suffering a serious impact in this crisis, have not stopped betting on the development of social projects so that, really, no one is left behind.
About Envera
Grupo Envera is a non-profit organization with transparency accredited by the Fundación Lealtad whose mission is the social and labor integration of people with intellectual disabilities. Each year it serves 2,500 people in its early care services, neurodevelopment for children and youth, training, job placement service, occupational and day centers, residences and Guardianship Foundation; and provides stable employment for 650 people in its special employment centers in Madrid, Colmenar Viejo, Barcelona, Malaga, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Envera leads the Competitive Social Responsibility Roundtable of Madrid Foro Empresarial and is El Confidencial's Influentials Award for Sustainable Organization 2018.
