In India, employment for deaf people is steadily progressing. Despite the challenges that the deaf community faces from the government and society, the initiative is there. Through special programs enacted by the government, the work of NGOs, and the deaf fighting tirelessly for their rights, there is hope for more prosperous employment opportunities for the deaf in India.

The Deaf Community in India

India is a large country, among the biggest in Southeast Asia. The exact number of deaf or hard-of-hearing people in the country is unknown. The Indian Otology Journal published an article estimating the deaf community to be around 63 million people. An issue in the country is how the government would define someone who is deaf differs from how the WHO (World Health Organization) would classify a deaf person. This grey area leads to unreliable statistics. An individual could be deaf to WHO’s definition, but the Indian government might not consider them deaf. 

Indian Sign Language and Accessibility

The country doesn’t have an official Sign Language; however, Indian Sign Language (ISL) is used by communities throughout the country in addition to local dialects in smaller villages. 

Advanced technology for deaf people includes video captions, video relay services, emergency calls, and interpreters on the local news that don’t exist. The number of interpreters available is also shockingly low. Hearing Like Me reports there are only a couple hundred for a population of over a million. Without official sign language, communication barriers between the deaf and everyone else are almost impenetrable. 

Another aspect to consider is the cultural acceptance of deafness. India already has a complicated culture to navigate. In Asian countries, having a disability makes you an outcast. The social stigma around using Sign Language is not the greatest in India. Since it is a big country with various dialects communicating isn’t always seamless. That is especially true for deaf people. Someone from southern India may not understand someone from east India. 

This story sounds all too familiar for countries that lack awareness of the deaf community. 

Establishing Sign Language is part of recognizing this unique and minority culture. However, the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center published an ISL dictionary in 2018. It aimed to give deaf Indians opportunities in society. It is a good initiative but hasn’t led to monumental changes like recognizing ISL as an official language.

How Education Prepares for the Job Search

Education is the key to a prosperous future. Get good grades, study hard, and you’ll reap the benefits. This might be the case for hearing students in India, but the deaf has a different narrative.

Systematic Issues

There are systematic issues with education in India, depending on the region, like low attendance rates and poor curriculum due to a lack of resources and cultural aspects. For deaf students, this is more of a disadvantage.

 There are only around 300 deaf schools available with a curriculum tailored to the needs of deaf students. Unfortunately, stories say that families have to move to far places to access education for their children. In a story reported by NPR, a mom from Maharashtra relocated to Mumbai for her deaf daughters. Deaf students can also attend a regular school but in the local language. Therefore, oralism is dominant, and the quality of learning is affected. 

That continues throughout their lives if they continue their education. There is also only one university in Delhi that has a program to support deaf students. The inaccessibility of deaf education due to many factors puts deaf individuals at a disadvantage in the future labor market, especially for high-skilled labor.

The Job Market in India

Photo by Rahul Shah

India’s job market is a mixture of high-skilled labor like IT, Data scientists, accountants, and much more. There are also low-skilled jobs in agriculture, tourism, shop owners, and construction.

Having a degree earns individuals some prestige, especially for higher-paying jobs. However, what happens if you need an educational background? For deaf people in India, this is a reality. That is not to say that it is virtually impossible for a deaf person to find employment but isn’t an easy task. People can see deaf people in India in jobs like hospitality, sales, and other industries, but the medical and government positions are not so much. 

Many factors go into this, like education accessibility and cultural issues. The stigma around being deaf is the unacceptance of having a disability in Indian culture that puts them far behind the average person. And the lack of mainstream education makes deaf Indians seem incompetent in the basic skills that jobs require.

Deaf people only make up between 20-30% of the labor force in India. However, some studies are showing that the cost of not employing a deaf person hurts the marketplace, and businesses are beginning to realize it. Finance and IT companies that serve businesses in the United States see the value of deaf employees. Project M says, that FIS (Fintech) took on deaf employees and recognized their ability to concentrate well because financial data processing is a job that needs laser focus to avoid detrimental mistakes. In addition, deaf employees have a better retention rate than hearing ones. 

Welfare Programs in India

For deaf people who face barriers to employment due to their condition, what happens to them? Are they left behind? While Welfare programs might not be available in an overpopulated country. The initiatives taken by the government show signs of progression.

ADIP (Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase) is a program that gives technology such as hearing aids, cochlear transplants, and other needs of the deaf community, especially to disadvantaged individuals. Assistive technology can tremendously improve a deaf person’s quality of life. 

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in India is a law that states companies that earn a certain profit must donate a percentage of the sales to social sectors like education or healthcare, which also encompasses the marginalized communities of India. It can aid deaf people by providing support and training for employment and better educational opportunities to empower the deaf workforce.

Additionally, National Social Assistance Program offers help to marginalized communities below the poverty line. It provides overall financial assistance with food and other basic needs to families.

Supporting the inclusion of deaf employment can unlock the potential of a skilled workforce. By breaking down the barriers and promoting equal opportunities for the deaf community in India, the government and society can empower and enrich the job market through progression and innovation. 

For more understanding about employment opportunities for deaf people worldwide, visit https://www.unspokenasl.com/.

Thumbnail Photo Credit to: “India” by sandeepachetan.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.