World of HR: Vodacom South Africa brings sign language into the workplace

South African Sign Language (SASL) has been the 12th official language in South Africa since 2023. Now, one company claims it’s the first to bring it into the workplace.

Where in the world? On International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Dec. 3), Vodacom, a South Africa-based telecoms company, announced a new partnership with the National Institute for the Deaf to make the company more accessible. The company claims the initiative is the first in the country to embed SASL throughout the business. Beginning in January, workers will have access to a visual SASL dictionary in the employee app and a 12-module SASL course.

“At Vodacom, inclusion is a serious commitment,” Njabulo Mashigo, director of HR at Vodacom South Africa, said in a press announcement. “This initiative is about fostering a sense of belonging. By embedding SASL into our digital DNA, we’re ensuring Deaf talent are seen, heard, and valued in every aspect of our workplace.”

Approximately 600,000 people in South Africa use sign language, according to a 2021 page from the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities, but many are unemployed, in part, because of structural barriers: Job interviews are frequently inaccessible and recruiters often don’t have proper training to accommodate disabled job applicants in South Africa, according to TechNation News.

Vodacom’s CEO, Sith Mdlalose, hopes that other companies in South Africa will follow suit. “We’re creating a workplace where diversity and lived experience are celebrated,” he said. “The Deaf community is not on the margins, they are integral to our workforce, our customer base, and our future.”

Satellite view. Deaf workers in the US can face similar barriers, according to Cal Matters. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodations.

“It’s easier to say, ‘Deaf people don’t want to work,’ than to try and address the larger systemic barriers at play,” Carrie Lou Bloom, co-director at the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes, told Cal Matters.

In June 2024, Walmart announced that employees at its Lancaster, Texas, distribution center could take American Sign Language training, HR Grapevine reported. The company told HR Grapevine that it hopes the offering will make the workplace more inclusive.

“This is one of the many ways that Walmart is introducing new trainings, meeting associates wherever they are on their learning journey and helping make Walmart a place where everyone belongs,” a Walmart spokesperson told HR Grapevine at the time.