Unilever Hero: Askur Meade
Shaping our diversity strategy
Askur was born deaf but learnt to communicate so effectively by lip reading and speaking, that you wouldn’t even notice his disability. He is a psychology graduate, currently working towards his masters and teaching at Marista University in his spare time.
For years, Askur searched for jobs where he could apply what he studied, but was denied these opportunities due to his disability. Unilever gave him a chance and he has played a key role in shaping our Mexican diversity strategy.
Changing our whole approach
When he arrived at Unilever Mexico, there were very few people with a disability working in the company. So he decided to change our whole approach, beginning with awareness-raising workshops so managers and other employees could broaden their minds towards inclusion and equal opportunities.
Askur’s work has revolutionised opportunities for people with disabilities at our Mexico City office. Since his arrival, the number of employees with disabilities has trebled.
Askur says: “The first person I hired was in a wheelchair. They thanked me because I saw their talent, not their disability. That was very inspiring for me.”
Now Askur has even bigger responsibilities as HR Business Partner and has shown outstanding expertise in the development and transformation of the teams he works with.