Besant picked for accessibility team

The “Fab 50” is a group of businesspeople assembled by The Be. Institute, a social enterprise that works throughout the country to improve the accessibility of organisations and infrastructure for social and economic benefit.

Be. Institute founder and CEO Minnie Baragwanath, who was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to people with disabilities, says the Be. Institute’s Fab 50 list of influential leaders, which is expected to evolve over time, will contribute to accelerating the New Zealand accessibility movement.

“Accessibility is one of the major leadership challenges facing countries and economies in the 21st century. It is a way of ensuring we put people at the heart of all we do as a society. Great businesses have always understood that treating people well – employees and customers – is the key to success, and great businesses in the 21st century will be the ones who understand that this must include the 24% who have access needs of some kind.”

At any given time, 24% of the population will identify as having an accessibility issue, which can range from the permanent, such as sight and hearing impairment and paralysis, to the temporary, such as people with infants and toddlers and those recovering from injury. The Be. Institute’s work to make New Zealand 100% accessible is intended to maximize productivity and employment and enable companies to sell to all markets.