Priyanka Bhardwaj

Indian social entrepreneur creating digital accessibility for disabled professionals through her award-winning initiative Digital Yatra.

Priyanka Bhardwaj is the visionary behind Digital Yatra, a groundbreaking initiative launched in 2021 that uses technology to create inclusive employment opportunities for people with disabilities in India. Her work addresses a critical issue: despite 2.68% of India's workforce being disabled, less than 1% are employed in formal sectors due to accessibility barriers and societal prejudices.

Through her platform, Priyanka has developed AI-driven tools that adapt digital workspaces to individual needs, including screen readers for visually impaired users and voice-to-code interfaces for those with mobility challenges. The platform also provides training programs certified by leading tech companies, enabling over 12,000 disabled professionals to secure remote tech roles by 2023. Notable partnerships include collaborations with IBM for accessibility testing and Mastercard for virtual assistant development projects.

Her most impactful innovation is the Neurodiverse Talent Pipeline program, which specifically targets neurodiverse individuals (autistic and ADHD professionals) by creating structured work environments that leverage their unique strengths. This initiative has a 92% retention rate among participants, far exceeding industry averages. Priyanka's work earned her the 2022 Global Inclusive Tech Award and inspired similar programs in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Beyond employment solutions, she co-founded the Disability Tech Hub, a global repository of open-source accessibility tools used by over 500 organizations worldwide. Her advocacy led to the 2023 Digital Accessibility Act in India, mandating all government portals to meet WCAG 2.1 standards. Priyanka's story was featured in the BBC's Disability Innovators series (2022) and she regularly advises the UN on inclusive tech policies.