The business is losing about 5 billion rubles. monthly due to insufficient level of inclusion

The lost benefit of the Russian service sector due to low adaptation to the needs of people with disabilities averages 4.8 billion rubles. per month. Alexander Semin, a member of the board of the Vera Hospice Foundation, spoke about this with reference to a study by NAFI and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI). At the same time, according to him, 61% of Russian entrepreneurs confirmed that their clients with disabilities spend the same amount of money on the purchase of goods or services as people without health conditions.

“When I went looking for a place to throw a party for my ward, it took several months. Nobody wanted to take our money. In some places it was impossible to stop by, in some places the waiters were afraid, in others we encountered other problems,” said Mr. Semin on conferences “Charity and social initiatives as a way of life”, organized by the Kommersant Publishing House.

According to the expert, in March 2022, ASI, as part of the National Social Initiative, launched the “Open to All” project, aimed at involving businesses in creating an accessible environment, products, services for people with disabilities. “This is a huge number of ready-made inclusive practices that a business can take and implement according to its profile,” clarified Mr. Semin.

Currently, more than 11 million people with disabilities live in Russia, only 17% of whom do not experience difficulties when purchasing goods or receiving services. At the same time, 660 thousand citizens with disabilities want to work, but cannot find a job. According to Rosstat, in 2020 in Russia the unemployment rate of people with disabilities of working age reached 21.4% versus 6% among the working population as a whole. Often, disclosing disability status on an application will result in a refusal to consider an applicant, regardless of their level of education and professional skills.