500 CEOs Of Major Corporations Unite To Tackle Disability Inclusion In Business

Valuable 500 Logo

In an article from Business World, the Valuable 500 announced it has reached its goal of 500 international organizations committing to put disability inclusion on their board agenda, making it the world’s biggest CEO collective for disability inclusion. This article was re-posted by the Southeast ADA Center.

This comes as new research from The Valuable 500 and Tortoise Media reveals that there are no executives or senior managers who have disclosed a disability in company reporting by the FTSE 100, while only 12% report on the total number of their employees who are disclosed as disabled.

The research found that only 5% of FTSE 100 companies have issued board level statements on disability as part of their leadership agenda. With digital accessibility more important than ever, almost 1 in 3 companies (29%) are failing to meet website accessibility standards, potentially missing out on a $13 trillion market, made up from the disposable income of persons with disabilities and their friends and family.

Since reaching the goal of 500 organizations in May 2021, The Valuable 500 has launched phase 2 of the campaign, which will see the 500 major organizations work together to make change happen for disability inclusion in business. The Valuable 500 has also received the largest ever investment into disability business inclusion, with The Nippon Foundation investing $5 million to catalyze new Valuable 500 initiatives.

Caroline Casey, Founder of the Valuable 500, commented: “Today we have broken the leadership silence on disability inclusion and put this on the business leadership agenda. We have now built this unique community and are launching phase 2. For me, the collective activation and innovation of this community for systemic business change has been a lifetime ambition. With the scale of the Valuable 500, change is possible because now we have the scale, the perfect time and the multiplier effect of this critical mass – it’s all about intention.”

SUMMARY: The Valuable 500 is a great initiative that should provide valuable and sorely needed jobs for disabled individuals. Disabled individuals looking for employment should contact the companies in the Valuable 500. Furthermore, disabled individuals, as consumers, should also support these companies who have committed to providing employment for disabled individuals.

………………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

If you observe a facility that is not ADA compliant and you would like to know how to proceed, please see the link at What To Do When A Building Is Not ADA Compliant or Accessible.

ADA Inspections Nationwide, LLC, offers ADA/ABA/FHA accessibility compliance inspections for buildings and facilities, as applicable to the different laws, and expert witness services with respect to ADA/ABA/FHA laws for building owners, tenants and managers. Also, ADAIN offers consulting for home modifications as a CAPS consultant for people wishing to age in place in their homes. For a complete list of services please see ADAIN Services.

Thank you.