{"id":6780,"date":"2024-04-24T09:14:56","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T09:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globaldev.blog\/?p=6780"},"modified":"2024-04-24T09:30:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T09:30:37","slug":"including-people-with-disabilities-in-africas-transition-to-the-fourth-industrial-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globaldev.blog\/including-people-with-disabilities-in-africas-transition-to-the-fourth-industrial-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Including people with disabilities in Africa\u2019s transition to the fourth industrial revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) threatens to further exclude people with disabilities from employment in Africa. This blog explores a just transition to 4IR in Africa that captures the needs of disabled people in a high-tech, changing work environment.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What is 4IR?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Led by developed nations, the world is already embracing the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). 4IR refers to an era of industrialization characterized by the digitization of the manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The major components of 4IR include artificial intelligence (AI), big data, the internet of things (IoT), blockchain technology, human-machine interaction, virtual reality, 3D printing, and robotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although considered disruptive, 4IR has benefited major world economies. It has promoted efficiency and quality in production and significantly reduced production costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n African countries have started to embrace 4IR. For instance, South Africa is implementing AI and 3D printing in medicine<\/a>, IoT in the supply of goods to consumers, and drone technology to deliver medicine to hardship areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The influence of 4IR on disabled people in the workplace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 4IR technologies affect jobs in several ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A high number of workers in Africa provide cheap labor along the industrial and manufacturing value chain. These workers will be significantly affected by 4IR, especially those with disabilities who already face higher unemployment rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4IR can further create a divide between highly skilled and non-skilled individuals. Notably, African people with disabilities are more likely than non-disabled people to offer unskilled labor, be self-employed in informal employment, or be in formal employment on a part-time basis. Therefore, they possess inadequate advanced skills needed for 4IR and research shows that they can be easily driven out of employment<\/a> as they will be less competitive. This is critical as over 80 million individuals in Africa are disabled<\/a> due to mental health issues, birth defects, diseases or physical impairments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n African people with disabilities have not fully exploited their potential to contribute to 4IR through skills and talents such as critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence<\/a>, and cognitive flexibility. These skills can also be used in the remote work environment, an area that has not been fully explored by this group. This limits them from fully engaging in employment that is geared towards 4IR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While a number of African countries, such as Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and Egypt<\/a>, have developed and manufactured assistive technologies and devices, they are often too expensive for people with disabilities<\/a>. This makes it difficult for disabled people to benefit from 4IR technologies that will help them in the workplace. Employers implementing 4IR also have minimal knowledge of how to work with people with disabilities, which further excludes them from significantly contributing to the transition to 4IR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n