Shivani Gupta

Consultant, Diversity & Inclusion

Shivani is an international accessibility consultant with over 13 years’ experience promoting inclusion of people with disabilities. A proven leader in her field, Shivani has been instrumental in raising the bar of organizational efficiency through diversity and inclusion initiatives.

With a Master’s in Inclusive Environments: Design and Management from UK, as well as Diplomas in Architecture Technology and Hotel Management, Shivani is an entrepreneur and catalyst for social change. Based in New Delhi, India, Shivani travels globally on various client engagements to unlock opportunities for people with disabilities by facilitating accessibility in the built environment. She has successfully improved accessibility of corporations, educational institutions, hotels, retail and commercial environments and contributed to policies for the disabled in India, Europe and the Middle East. Shivani has worked on numerous projects for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Disability Alliance, Disabled Peoples’ International, Indian Spinal Injury Centre, ITC WelcomGroup, Deutsche Bank, Indian School of Business, AVIVA, National University of Ireland …

As a Consultant with the International Disability Alliance, she worked on their Capacity Building Training Programs across South Asia. She has developed and co-authored training manuals, e.g. “Access in London,” and “Planning a Barrier Free Environment” for the Government of India, which is widely used by architects, designers, engineers and people with disabilities. More recently, as a Consultant with the United Nations, Geneva, she developed the Accessibility guide for participants attending the Human Right Council sessions.

Her own autobiography “No Looking Back” is an inspiration for many people. For her achievements in the disability sector, and her personal courage, Shivani has received national and international acclaim. She has been honoured with the Helen Keller Award (2008), the CavinKare Ability Mastery Award (2008), the National Role Model Award in India, and the International Woman of the Year Award (1996).

At OCI, Shivani is our key global advisor on Diversity and Inclusion, with a special focus on the disabilities sector, providing end-to-end recruitment and environmental solutions to access the ability within Persons with disabilities.

Shivani believes that:

There is nothing more disabling for persons with disabilities than society’s failure to accept and include them as part of the mainstream. Her motto is ‘Access = Ability’