Nearly every top employer publishes a diversity & inclusion report. But just 2% report on disability inclusion in their workplaces.
Nineteen Insights' 2019 Diversity & Inclusion Statement Webtrack reviewed 100 top US employers' statements on workforce diversity. All but two publish D&I reports. But while companies love to talk about diversity, they don’t like to share specifics: Just 56% publish hard data. Major employers like Pepsi, Verizon, UPS, Publix, State Farm, and Delta Air Lines all proclaim their commitment to diversity without reporting actual numbers.
One diversity category employers really don't want to report on is disability. While almost half of companies discuss disability in their diversity reports, only 2 of 100 report disability data: Xerox’s 2018 D&I report [PDF] says 4% of their employees have disabilities, while AT&T's 2018 D&I report [PDF] says the company employs "4,300+" individuals with disabilities in the US (but fails to report a percentage). Who doesn’t report disability inclusion? Almost every other top company.
You already know the many reasons to hire disabled employees. But as Peter Drucker said, what gets measured gets managed. If you don’t benchmark disability inclusion and report your progress, your numbers won’t increase. Build a self-identification program, publish your baseline data, and make a plan to improve.
