A Journey Rooted in Purpose
In 2012, Ni Komang Ayu Suriani took her first step into the world of disability through her volunteering experience at Puspadi Bali. Fresh out of law school, she sought a meaningful experience and began teaching English to people with disabilities. The experience was transformative.
I realized that people with disabilities are just as capable and intelligent as anyone else. Their potential was undeniable - but the opportunities weren’t.
Her excitement, however, was met with a harsh reality: after completing their training, many of her students returned to their villages with no clear path forward.
The question haunted her: “How can I help build a future where they don’t just learn, but truly become empowered?”
That search for answers led her to Dnetwork, one of Indonesia’s first online recruitment platforms for people with disabilities. But as she worked closely with job seekers and employers, she saw a deeper gap – one that went beyond job placements. True inclusion required more than just hiring; it demanded lasting change in workplace culture, infrastructure, and support systems.
This realization sparked the creation of Difalink – a social enterprise that provides an end-to-end solution for people with disability recruitment – from equipping talents with the right skills, connecting them with the right opportunities and ensuring companies are able to accommodate their hires.
Berdaya Talk is an initiative that explores the stories of change makers and the initiatives they have developed to support sustainable development in Indonesia. This time, we are joined by Ni Komang Ayu Suriani, Founder at Difalink.
The Employment Challenge for People with Disabilities
Indonesia is home to an estimated 22.97 million people with disabilities (BPS Susenas, 2020). However, the unemployment rate among them stands at a staggering 78.35%, meaning nearly four out of five are either unemployed or out of the labor force entirely.
These numbers, however, may not even be telling the full story. Disability data is notoriously unreliable due to underreporting, societal stigma, and varying definitions across government agencies.
Many people with disabilities remain invisible, excluded from surveys and opportunities alike.
The consequences of this exclusion are profound. Without employment, individuals with disabilities often rely on family support or government assistance, limiting their independence and perpetuating cycles of poverty.
The Evolution of Disability Hiring in Indonesia
When Suri first started in the field, disability employment platforms were nearly nonexistent, and talents didn’t know where to look.
When we initially started, these people barely understood how to find jobs online.
Today, Difalink has expanded beyond Bali to Java and diversified across industries such as hospitality, retail, banking, and even the automotive sector.
The company has also embraced the digital economy by connecting skilled talents in graphic design and content writing with employment opportunities.
Bridging the Gap Between Talent and Employers
Difalink operates like a traditional job recruitment platform but with a specialized approach. The organization carefully vets candidates to ensure their skills and qualifications match employer expectations.
The reason for this rigorous process is clear: a single bad experience with a candidate can reinforce harmful stereotypes and make companies hesitant to hire more people with disabilities, perpetuating existing stigmas.
To address this, Difalink maintains a curated talent pool and enforces professional accountability. Talents who fail to demonstrate strong workplace behaviors risk being removed from the pool, ensuring quality and reliability for employers.
Empowering Talents Through Education and Skills Training
You can’t talk about employment without discussing the education requirement that comes with it. After all, education plays a crucial role in employability. (Boman, 2015).
According to Susenas’ report in 2020, more than 60% of people with disabilities in Indonesia only have an elementary school education and earn less than IDR 1 million per month.
Even before entering the workforce, accessing education is already a significant hurdle. For instance, Deaf students often struggle to find sign language interpreters (JBI), making it difficult to complete degrees that are essential for competitive careers.
On top of that, economic downturns – like the COVID-19 pandemic – have hit workers with disabilities the hardest, causing salaries to drop by an estimated 47.85% across all disability categories (Sakernas, 2020).
To counter these challenges, Difalink launched programs like DNA (Disability to the Next Ability) to strengthen soft skills and DOPE (Disability Empowerment for Professional Equality) to provide training in digital skills such as graphic design and copywriting.
These programs aim to bridge the gap between education and employment, equipping individuals with the tools they need to succeed.
Building Inclusive Work Environments
Hiring talent is just the beginning of the journey. Picture a wheelchair-using employee, thrilled to land their first job at a prestigious company – only to face daily obstacles due to inaccessible ramps or lifts.
Without proper accommodations, even the most skilled individuals can find themselves struggling, not because of their abilities, but because the workplace isn’t built to support them.
At Difalink, we go beyond recruitment by offering expert consultancy services that help companies transform into truly inclusive workplaces, ensuring that every hire can thrive, contribute, and succeed.
Difalink provides disability assessments and accessibility audits to help companies create truly inclusive workplaces.
One standout example is Toyota, a company that doesn’t just talk about inclusion but actively builds it into their culture. When they decided to recruit people with disabilities, they took significant steps – constructing ramps and accessible restrooms.
However, upon assessment, we discovered that some ramps were too steep, making them difficult to use. By collaborating with us, Toyota refined its infrastructure and policies, ensuring a workplace that genuinely supports employees with disabilities.
Toyota truly walks the talk when it comes to fostering an inclusive workplace. Their dedication is evident not just in the facilities they provide but in their willingness to continuously improve. From accessible wudhu showers for wheelchair users to emergency buttons placed within easy reach, their attention to detail is remarkable. Even before our assessment, they already had these facilities in place, but their drive to go above and beyond sets them apart.
Thanks to our work with Toyota, we’ve been able to support even more companies in conducting disability assessments – helping them move beyond compliance to create workspaces where every employee can thrive.
Beyond just modifying physical spaces, Difalink conducts disability sensitivity training to ensure companies are culturally ready for true inclusion.
One common but harmful workplace stigma is pity – the belief that people with disabilities should be encouraged to stay home rather than work.
Many assume that hiring people with disabilities is an act of charity rather than recognizing their skills and contributions
Through our training, we help companies understand the critical difference between equality and equity – “Equality means treating everyone the same, but equity means providing the necessary support for each individual to thrive.”
A Policy Landscape in Need of Change
One of the biggest opportunities for advancing disability employment in Indonesia lies in stronger government support.
While many countries offer tax benefits or subsidies to encourage inclusive hiring, Indonesian businesses currently lead the way through their own values and corporate culture. This commitment is inspiring, but with the right policies in place, the impact could be even greater.
Suri remains hopeful that Indonesia will take steps toward a more inclusive future, where businesses are empowered with the right incentives to champion disability employment on an even larger scale.
Lessons in Entrepreneurship
Building a business is like running a marathon – it’s all about endurance, strategy, and playing the long game. To stay in the race, you need to be smart about your resources and leverage every advantage you have.
One of the most powerful things you can do as a founder is to recognize your own privilege - we all have unique strengths and opportunities, and knowing how to harness them can make all the difference.
Being resourceful is just as crucial. Managing your runway wisely can keep your business or organization afloat longer than you think. Take Difalink, for example – we started in 2018, but it wasn’t until 2022 that we had a full team. Sometimes, that means taking on a part-time job while building your business, and that’s okay – especially for bootstrapped founders. Money doesn’t grow on trees, but resilience, vision, and determination can take you further than you ever imagined.
Stay focused on your mission, keep pushing forward, and never lose sight of why you started in the first place.
The Future of Disability Employment in Indonesia
Looking ahead, Difalink aims to become a data hub for disability employment in Indonesia. The lack of reliable data on people with disabilities has been a persistent issue, and Difalink hopes to fill this gap by providing accurate insights to drive policy changes and corporate decisions.
