According to the Valuable 500, 54% of companies have an active disability inclusion accessibility policy.
The disabled community is no minority, estimated at 1.3 billion people, yet people with disabilities are routinely facing a growing list of discriminations, from shrinking wages to escalating living costs.
Disabled workers were among the hardest hit during the pandemic, and now millions of disabled workers face a living standards emergency – with lower pay than non-disabled workers, but higher energy and transport costs.
The research reveals encouraging progress towards disability inclusion across all business processes, from recruitment to advertising, with 81% of respondents declaring an improvement on their pre-pandemic disability strategies.
A consideration of disability is now central to many recruitment processes, to improve disabled representation and foster an inclusive work ethos from the offset. Sixty-five percent of respondents report adjusting their interview process, whilst 74% advertise as an inclusive employer, and 62% explicitly encourage applications from disabled candidates.
However, whilst the report highlights significant improvements, further action is still needed for both disabled consumers and employees.
Thirty-three percent of businesses have not developed or begun to implement a digital focus on accessibility. Although there are new innovations emerging, including Microsoft’s new range of accessibility accessories, and Apple’s new assistive technologies, the digital transformation continues to leave people with disabilities behind.
Now more than ever, diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) is at the forefront of customers’ and employees’ perceptions of businesses. But it’s time we all address the missing “A”: accessibility.
Disability is not a minority issue, and businesses can no longer afford to ignore more than one billion people.
The Valuable Truth Report examines the accessibility initiatives undertaken by businesses within the Valuable 500 collective. In collaboration with C Space, Savanta, and ilumino, the survey posed 49 quantitative questions spanning across customer offerings, marketing representation, C-Suite engagement, internal culture, research, and reporting.
Read the full report by Valuable 500.
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