How can you ensure your culture change initiative is inclusive of employees with disabilities?

As someone who personally experiences a lung disease and identifies as neurodiverse, I find myself particularly attuned to the importance of inclusivity. I make it a priority to actively engage employees with disabilities by fostering regular collaborations with ERG/BRG/advocacy groups. Additionally, I consistently assess and enhance our efforts towards inclusivity, striving for continuous improvement.

The Disability Equality Index helps companies gauge where they are from a workplace policy perspective by asking the question, “Are my employment policies and practices going to attract and retain talent with disabilities?” Companies can combine this with an employee/business resource group (ERG/BRG) for disabled employees, caregivers, and allies so that they can capture the grassroots perspective on their culture in order to design a culturally responsive inclusion journey to achieve full equity in the workplace.

Jill you are so right, thank you! But I would say there is an even more basic, and sometimes disappointing, way to see if the company is serious about including people with disabilities. What are the messages they are sending every day? When the company is planning something small like a gathering or large like an expansion, are they taking us into account? Can I get the door open? Can I get into the meeting? Can I communicate in the gathering? A couple of years ago I went to a diversity conference where everything was ADA compliant except the networking event, which required one to walk up a small flight of stairs to attend. Inclusive thinking and perspective isn't hard, but it requires rigorous application.

Setting up an employee reference group especially for people with disabilities is a great way to ensure the changes are done in a culturally sensitive manner. This group can engage other employees with disabilities and provide recommendations feedback on the strategies to ensure the transition is smooth.

A company's greatest assets are its people. Lean into your ERG/BRG, its executive sponsor, and organic peer-to-peer influence. Authentic and responsive culture change is a classic case of, “Nothing about us without us.”

In the 2023 Disability Equality Index report, Disability:IN found that 91% of participating companies provide disability-focused information in new hire orientation, and 93% of companies encourage employees to self-identify their disability status. These best practices are the building blocks for a successful organizational change. It's also important to share the multiple definitions of disability; promote stories of disabled talent (through genuine and authentic storytelling); and celebrate disability through strategic annual campaigns for workplace visibility.

Disability:IN's Disability Equality Index can be any company's roadmap for building inclusive workplaces. The comprehensive benchmarking tool helps companies inventory current policies with the aim of improving the workplace for disabled talent and caregivers. It also helps companies identify gaps in their strategies and set aspirational goals for new workplace imperatives that improve inclusivity for all employees.

Access and inclusion action plans are an excellent way for organisations to keep track of where they are at in the journey to disability inclusion. A central point for all strategies.

A way to make cultural changes in an organization smooth is by ensuring everyone's opinion is included. In the case of disability inclusion, both those employees who are abled differently and the rest should come together to discuss and craft the policies. Inclusiveness should also be at all levels of the organization and also a lived culture as opposed to being tokenized.

I encourage people to Google their company’s most recent sustainability report. Does it include people with disabilities? Annual reporting is the most effective way to communicate with current and future employees, investors and shareholders, and communities and consumers. Share your workforce representation data; highlight your ERG/BRG; spotlight your disability-focused supplier diversity initiatives. Make your commitment to disability inclusion public by voluntarily reporting on disability in your annual sustainability reports.