The global population with significant disabilities and impairments stands at 1.3 billion, the World Health Organization has revealed. That's around 16 percent of the world's population.

Caroline Casey, Founder of the Valuable 500 – the largest global CEO collective committed to disability inclusion – is one of those 1.3 billion.

"I have a condition called ocular albinism, which means I'm registered legally blind. I have about a foot (of) vision. And looking at you, I can't really see you," Casey told CGTN Europe.

However, visual impairment did not stop Casey from campaigning for change for disability inclusion in business and the forgotten contribution of people with disabilities to the world economy.

Casey believes 80 percent of disability is invisible and that our understanding of what disability is remains very different to the reality. The current economic downturn, caused by factors including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Brexit and high inflation, has affected "the marginalized groups whose voices are not at the table," she said. 

'Huge losses if they ignore disabled consumers'

Despite campaigns to boost the employment rate of people with disabilities, it's estimated only 28 percent of businesses have plans for recruiting these individuals, according to a report by AI solutions firm Verbit.

Casey believes disability exclusion remains a "crisis" that will never be resolved unless the perception of disability is turned into an opportunity of value.

"There's a 1.3 billion market sitting there wanting to do business with you. So why would you turn your back on it?" she asked.

"If you ignore the consumer base, which is the 1.3 billion people and their families, which is 54 percent of the global economy - that's 13 trillion (dollars) annually."

Multiple enterprises have sensed the value of the market, one notable example being Mattel. The toy giant introduced the first Barbie doll with Down Syndrome in April this year to showcase diverse examples of beauty and combat physical disability stigmas. 

Other corporations, such as Accenture, Microsoft, L'Oréal, Procter & Gamble and Dell, have implemented disability inclusion policies to offer change.

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'Nothing about us, without us' is a slogan widely used to communicate the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members of those group affected by that policy.

"The world is not designed for disabled people. I have a disability because the world is not designed for my vision impairments," said Casey.

"Texting was designed for people with hearing impairments to text message. We all do it. The remote control was designed for blind people to watch television, designed for people who are visually impaired but used by all of us. 

"So, it's really talking about mainstreaming and normalizing this experience and stop thinking about disability or accessibility as an expensive option, but seeing it as a huge opportunity to engage a happier and bigger consumer base."

Asked whether businesses have done enough for disability inclusion, Casey's answer is simply "no."

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