Technology employers, stung by criticism over of their lack of diversity, now openly discuss their inclusion efforts and detail their progress. But they still ignore disability inclusion.
Nineteen Insights recently reported that while nearly every top employer publishes a diversity and inclusion report, barely half report specific numbers and only 2% release disability data.
You might expect technology firms to do better. And our 2019 Diversity & Inclusion Statement Webtrack confirmed technology employers are almost twice as likely as other large employers to report gender and ethnic diversity data.
But just 8% of tech firms publish workforce disability data — and those few employers don’t exactly excel at disability inclusion. Slack reports that 1.4% of its US workforce identifies as having a disability, down from its previous report. Square says 1% of its employees self-report a disability. And Xerox says 4% of its employees have disabilities.
Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and dozens of other leading technology employers all fail to report on disability inclusion. And by refusing to track this number, they reduce their ability to benefit from the benefits disabled employees offer. Tech firms, like other large employers, must build self-identification programs, publish their data, and make plans to improve.