AG百家乐在线官网

This week is National Inclusion Week - an annual opportunity to raise awareness of inclusion in the workplace.

Here, actor and disability campaigner Samantha Renke remembers the moment she was asked what she wanted to do when she was older, and how she challenged all the assumptions about what she could achieve.

I was around eight years old - sat in the sports hall of my primary school in my red electric wheelchair, long blonde pigtails and oversized, multicoloured glasses - my memory of that moment oh so vivid.

Without hesitation I replied: "Well after high school I need to go to college, then university and after that I want to become a teacher or an actress."

Even at such a young age I was certain of what I wanted to achieve and my aspirations were set high.

Unfortunately, my teachers didn't seem to share my enthusiasm. As I looked around at their faces, soft but rather patronising smiles with undertones of "oh bless her" stared back at me.

On some level, I didn't blame their lack of optimism. I knew I was "different" to my peers.

I was born with a rare genetic condition called osteogenesis imperfecta, more commonly known as "brittle bones", which means my bones break very easily.

I am a full-time wheelchair user and have spent more time in hospital than I've eaten hot dinners. People didn't expect me to achieve much at all, let alone have such high ambitions.

I don't remember having any role models with disabilities growing up, and heaven forbid anyone on the television looking like me!

Fast forward to today and unfortunately not much has changed, with disabled representation on our screens barely reaching 3%.

Almost 25 years later, I have in fact done what I told my teachers I would do. After university I became a language and SEN teacher, I am an award-winning actress, and also have a successful career as a disability campaigner and blogger. I've proven everyone wrong and I hope to change how society values and respects the disabled community.

Despite my success I still face daily prejudices and discrimination within my work, and this is something the disabled community still faces en masse. Not only are we excluded from the world of work, we are also let down by our employers through sheer ignorance and feelings of awkwardness.

The leading disability charity Scope surveyed 2,000 people with a variety of impairments for their Work With Me Campaign 2017. It found that, when applying for jobs, only half of the applicants with impairments would receive an interview, compared with 69% for non-disabled applicants.

Disabled people also, on average, apply for 60% more jobs than non-disabled people in their job search. What's more upsetting is that more than a third (37%) of disabled people don't feel confident about getting a job, and believe employers won't hire them because of their impairment or condition.

Going to work is much more than having a steady income, it gives me a sense of achievement, self-worth and pride. I feel part of society. That sense of belonging and feeling valued is paramount for someone with a disability as we can often feel isolated, pushed to the side, patronised, underestimated or simply forgotten about.

One in five of us in the UK have a disability and we need to see this reflected in society, including the world of work.

Sky have partnered with Inclusive Employers to highlight the everyday practical ways an inclusive environment can be created in your workplace - and Sky News has asked writers from a diverse background to explain why the issue of inclusivity is important to them.