Employment of people with disabilities through working from home UTokyo D&I Actions and Messages
― UTokyo D&I Campaign 2022 ―
The University of Tokyo has launched a campaign aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion on campus, and making the university a place where people from diverse backgrounds can thrive. The initiative, called UTokyo D&I Campaign 2022, started in March 2022. Here, we introduce plans and actions related to D&I initiatives from members of the UTokyo community, including deans and directors of various UTokyo organizations.
Actions and Messages
Employment of people with disabilities through working from home
Akihiko MATSUI, Professor, Graduate School of Economics
With the incorporation of the University of Tokyo, efforts to employ people with disabilities began in the same way as in the private sector. The Graduate School of Economics was designated as a pilot department at that time and has actively promoted the employment of persons with disabilities with the cooperation of central administration. As a result, the employment rate of persons with disabilities reached 6.54% in FY2011, far exceeding the 2.1% legally mandated rate at the time.
We would like to note the “Working from home“ program that three employees with physical disabilities have been engaged in since FY2010. This initiative can be regarded as a pioneer in the spread of working from home among general faculty and staff, triggered by the recent outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, these staff members visit the school once a month for face-to-face meetings, which has provided an opportunity to review the barrier-free environment in and around the campus.
The staff members are actively engaged in external activities, visiting facilities for people with disabilities and interviewing prominent people with disabilities. In addition, we provided sign language interpretation, text interpretation (subtitles), and text data for the visually impaired at a seminar by Professor Yoshito Takasaki of the Graduate School of Economics, which was held at the end of May 2022. Logistics for this seminar was a part of their tasks, too. (As of May 20, 2022)
By actively working to improve the environment and reorganize operations, the Graduate School is promoting the employment of people with disabilities in both quantity and quality.
