Our commitment to inclusion

Sightsavers strives to create a diverse, inclusive global organisation for current and future employees.

In line with our programme work on disability rights and equality, we actively promote inclusion within our organisation and our wider professional networks. We also monitor gaps in our workforce to identify opportunities to recruit and retain diverse staff.

Sightsavers is a Disability Confident employer with Level 3 accreditation, an accolade awarded to employers that are leaders in inclusion. The Disability Confident scheme helps employers to challenge attitudes and increase understanding of disability, secure high-quality staff and improve employee morale by demonstrating fair treatment.

We’re also a member of the PurpleSpace networking hub, which supports employees with disabilities and makes it easier for employees to navigate the experience of ill health, disability, accident or injury. The aim is to create a unique ‘movement’ of existing disabled employees and their allies, champions and executive sponsors.

The Disability Inclusion Working Group

In 2016, Sightsavers’ Disability Inclusion Working Group was founded to help us reach our inclusion goals. Originally called the Social Inclusion Working Group, it drew its members from across the organisation, and met regularly to propose new initiatives and review progress on existing projects and goals. The group was nominated for a prestigious Bond Diversity award in 2020, before concluding its work in 2023.

Between 2016 and 2023, the group:

• Created and launched a global disability training programme for staff and all new starters at Sightsavers
• Helped to develop guidelines for print, digital and live event accessibility, including Microsoft document templates, and introduced an internal testing process to ensure our content is accessible for people using screenreaders
• Organised an ongoing programme of speaker sessions for inclusion champions and external trainers to share their expertise with the organisation
• Helped Sightsavers achieve and retain Disability Confident Leadership status, recognising the organisation’s leadership as an inclusive employer
• Spearheaded an internal accessibility campaign, called Think Accessibility, to encourage employees to adopt accessibility features in their work