This year marks the 10th anniversary of Disability:IN’s Disability Equality Index (DEI) – an essential tool used by business leaders worldwide to benchmark their accessibility initiatives.
Disability:IN, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting business disability inclusion globally, partners with more than 500 corporations to foster an inclusive global economy where people with disabilities can participate fully and meaningfully across enterprises.
The 2024 DEI Report has unveiled several key findings with significant implications for the current and future progress of disability inclusion in business. Let’s explore these findings and discuss how business leaders can leverage the 2024 DEI report to benchmark their ongoing inclusion efforts.
The 2024 Disability Equality Index: Major Milestones
This year’s DEI report coincides with two significant milestones for Disability:IN and the Disability Equality Index. First, 2024 marks the 10-year anniversary of the DEI, which was created to drive progress in disability inclusion. Second, the Disability Equality Index has been officially internationalized, now including Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom.
These milestones highlight the growing demand for increased disability inclusion across global markets. With a decade of growth, the DEI has established itself as a reliable and valuable tool for business leaders worldwide seeking to make sustainable progress in their inclusion efforts.
DEI 2024: Key Findings
The 2024 report analyzed trends and data across several key areas of business disability inclusion, receiving 753 submissions from eight different markets. Here are some major takeaways from the data collected.
Culture and Leadership
The global data for 2024 revealed that an inclusive business culture relies not only on employee-organizing groups but also on the public support of business leaders for disability inclusion. Of the 753 participating companies, 87% have a senior executive who is a visible ally for the disability community, and 83% have an officially recognized disability-focused Employee Resource Group (ERG) or Affinity Group. The US market saw increases in these percentages between 2022 and 2024, reflecting new and ongoing efforts by US business leaders to prioritize disability inclusion.
However, only 11% of participating companies have someone who openly identifies as having a disability serving on their corporate board of directors, and only 3% publicly disclose or report on disability within their corporate board. These statistics indicate that businesses worldwide still have work to do in developing more inclusive organizations from the top down.
Enterprise-wide Access
With the inclusion of international organizations, 2024 saw a slight decrease in the percentage of companies encouraging employees to self-identify as having a disability. Though this discrepancy was expected, the overall progress in enterprise-wide accessibility practices remains on track.
A notable finding in this area is that while 86% of participating companies offer employee retention and advancement programs that include employees with disabilities, only 6% offer programs solely focused on employees with disabilities. Additionally, only 37% of global respondents make job interview candidates aware of the option to request accommodations for their interviews, compared to about 60% in the US market. This suggests a need for a more standardized approach to offering and highlighting interview accommodations globally.
Accommodations, Benefits, and Employment Practices
The data in this category reflected the most widely adopted inclusion practices among index contributors. Key statistics include:
- 98% offer flexible work options.
- 87% have a company-wide disability accommodation policy accessible in more than one way.
- 87% provide wellness benefits extending beyond Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) or mental health benefits.
- 55% have a centralized accommodations fund or allow managers to have a “budget margin” for disability accommodations expenses.
- 48% offer Supplemental Long-Term Disability insurance benefits.
- 46% have disability-inclusive nondiscrimination standards applicable to all employees outside the United States.
US companies reported even higher rates of implementation for these practices, likely due to the higher percentage (71%) of US-based companies in the index. Nonetheless, businesses worldwide should strive to adopt these practices to close the performance gap between the US and other markets.
Recruitment, Employment, Education, and Retention
This category assessed inclusion efforts throughout the employee lifecycle. Highlights include:
- 64% of global participants use numerical data to track progress in hiring people with disabilities.
- 92% include disability-focused information in new-hire orientation.
- 51% require all managers to take at least one training session on disability inclusion.
These findings suggest that businesses are making strides in inclusive hiring and onboarding practices, which will drive further progress in implementing other inclusive practices throughout the employee lifecycle.
Community Engagement
The 2024 report found that global companies are more engaged with the disability community than ever before:
- 90% have formal programs to address the needs of the disability community.
- 77% market directly to the disability community by authentically depicting people with disabilities in marketing materials.
- 69% have plans to ensure social media postings are accessible, though only 31% offer an accessibility-audited smartphone app.
As more new hires report having disabilities, the need for comprehensive community engagement programs will continue to grow. Companies can build on current progress by investing in the accessibility of their social media, applications, and communications.
Supplier Diversity
Supplier diversity shows the most room for improvement. While 83% have a supplier diversity manager or leader, only 11% have a supplier diversity council or committee focused on disability inclusion. Additionally, only 22% have disability-focused goals in supplier diversity and inclusion. Partnering with suppliers that have Tier-2 expenditures with Disability-Owned Business Enterprises can impact local and global supply chains and support the economic success of individuals with disabilities.
Looking Ahead
The 2024 DEI report underscores significant progress in disability inclusion in business. With active engagement in fostering inclusivity throughout the employee lifecycle, the future looks promising. Business leaders can build on their progress by assessing their inclusion efforts against DEI benchmarks and leveraging the DEI to meet new legislative requirements for disability and sustainability reporting.
By partnering with Disability-Owned Business Enterprises, enhancing inclusive hiring practices, and investing in accessibility technology, businesses worldwide can create diverse, sustainable workforces and contribute to the economic and professional success of the global disability community.
If you’re interested in fostering a disability-inclusive work environment while keeping pace with global business leaders, reach out today to speak to a member of the VITAC team.