Donald Trump’s election to president may be making all kinds of headlines at the moment and while the man himself has certainly split opinion one thing that most people are agreed on is that it is the toughest job in the world.
One most people, especially those with a disability, would rule themselves out of straight away.
In the UK someone with a disability is twice as likely to be unemployed as a non-disabled person, someone with sight loss is three times as likely not to be working.
That’s despite the fact that most disabled people want to work, they just face all kinds of barriers most of us never need to worry about when looking for a job.
But President’s Trump’s predecessors have not been visionaries in every sense of the word.
In fact Abraham Lincoln was said to be suffering from the eye condition strabismus causing one of his eyes not to be aligned correctly.
Theodore Roosevelt was claimed to be partially blind in his left eye while Woodrow Wilson was said to have suffered a haemorrhage in his retina causing partial blindness for some time.
Of course, when President Trump and Hillary Clinton were campaigning to be elected they were falling over themselves to shout about what good shape they were in and Hillary’s bout of pneumonia was said to have contributed to her failure to get elected.
And here in the UK we have a handful, if that, of disabled MPs.
Have times changed? Are disabled people less likely to go for that hot shot job?
In some cases it may be something to do with the employers.
While there are some firms leading the way there is no doubt that some are still fearful (whether they are open about it or not) about taking on someone with a disability such as sight loss.
Probably because they don’t know what to expect.
But there are organisations working across the UK, like the sight loss charity the Beacon Centre, who are working to change these views and give people with sight loss the confidence and skills they need to make going into the workplace a success.
Thanks to funding through the European Social Fund and the Big Lottery Fund the Beacon Centre runs a successful employment and skills programme that will help hundreds of people in the West Midlands as well as finding employers new staff that will change and improve their companies in ways they may not have realised.
So, if it’s the fear of giving it a go that is stopping you from going for that dream job, take heart from those American presidents who have led the way, break down those barriers and make 2017 your year.
To find out more about the Beacon Centre’s employment programme visit www. beaconvision.org/employment
Don’t let disability get in the way of your dreams
