About

Fadila Lagadien

AI-Enabled Accessibility & Disability Inclusion Specialist. Founder of BeAccessible and FAIdila Consulting. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, serving clients globally.

Over 20 years of disability inclusion advocacy, policy development, ILO advisory work, and original research have shaped a practice that is grounded in lived experience, informed by evidence, and committed to building lasting internal capability inside every organisation we work with.

Fadila Lagadien

AI-Enabled Accessibility & Disability Inclusion Specialist

  • 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South Africa · Serving clients globally
  • 📋 Employment Equity Act Contributor
  • 🤝 ILO Advisory Experience
  • 🎓 MBA — Original Research: 3-Gap Framework
  • 🤖 CenteIA PRO AI Professional Certification
  • ⚖️ Founder, BiasLens™ Algorithmic Bias Testing

Original Research

The 3-Gap Framework

Developed through original MBA research in South African corporate contexts, the 3-Gap Framework identifies why disability employment initiatives fail — and what must be addressed to make them succeed.

Gap 1

Perception Barriers

How disability is understood — or misunderstood — within organisational leadership. Assumptions about capability, productivity, and "fit" that are never examined.

Gap 2

Commitment Barriers

The gap between stated values and actual resource allocation. Disability inclusion is spoken about but not budgeted for, measured, or held to account.

Gap 3

Systems Barriers

The structural and procedural gaps — inaccessible digital systems, HR processes that exclude, physical environments that were never designed for disabled people.

The framework underpins the 3-Gap Index — BeAccessible's capability maturity model that gives organisations a structured path from compliance to genuine inclusion. Every engagement begins with a 3-Gap Assessment to identify where your organisation is on that path.

The Journey

Two Decades of Practice

  1. 2000s · Policy & Advocacy

    Began career shaping disability inclusion policy in South Africa, including contributions to the Employment Equity Act framework.

  2. 2010s · ILO Advisory Work

    Engaged as an advisory voice with the International Labour Organisation on disability and employment in the African context.

  3. 2022 · MBA & 3-Gap Framework

    Completed an MBA with original research on employment barriers facing disabled people in South Africa, producing the 3-Gap Framework (perception, commitment, systems barriers).

  4. 2023 · AI Professional Certification

    Completed AI professional certification through CenteIA PRO, integrating responsible AI into accessibility and inclusion practice.

  5. 2024 · BeAccessible & FAIdila Consulting

    Founded BeAccessible and FAIdila Consulting to bring AI-enabled accessibility and algorithmic fairness to South African and global clients.

  6. 2025+ · BiasLens™ & Digital Products

    Launched South Africa's first algorithmic bias testing platform and a suite of digital tools for disability inclusion practitioners and HR professionals.

What Guides the Work

Principles, Not Platitudes

Disability-Led

Disability inclusion led by someone who lives it — not by a consultant who studies it from the outside.

Policy-Grounded

Two decades of shaping South African policy means recommendations that are defensible, contextual, and implementable.

AI-Responsible

AI is a tool for scaling inclusion intelligence — not a replacement for human accountability, context, or lived experience.

Transfer-Focused

Every engagement is designed to leave your organisation more capable than it was before we arrived.

Ready to Work Together?

Every engagement starts with a conversation. Let's find out where your organisation is on the 3-Gap Index and what it would take to move forward.

Start the Conversation