It is July, the anniversary of the ADA and what is now known as Disability Pride Month. If you are not familiar with Disability Pride month - click on this great article about Allyship that provides more detail. Basically, we are in a month long celebration that recognizes the passage of the civil rights legislation creating greater access, equity and inclusion for people with disabilities. Businesses everywhere take this opportunity to discuss and train on disability inclusion.
It is one of our busiest times of the year.
Last year, I wrote a blog 30 Awesome Things to do to Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the ADA. It was our most viewed blog post with over 5K views. Clearly, organizations were searching for ideas and activities to celebrate this milestone. The list ranges in activities from attending a webinar, to engaging a disability influencer to reviewing job descriptions and so much more. Truly there is something for everyone, no matter where you are in your disability inclusion journey.
We share this list again. And add one more item making our list complete with 31 amazing things to do for the 31st anniversary of the ADA. This year's addition is understanding the employee experience for those with disabilities. Earlier this year, I co-authored a report with Dr. Peter Rutigliano, from Mercer called The State of Disability Employee Engagement. that highlights the stark differences in the employment experience of those with disabilities compared to those without disabilities. This report was a culmination of a ten year study conducted by Global Disability Inclusion and Mercer, that includes the largest data base on this issue to date - 12M global responses.
One of the most startling findings is not just the stark differences in the employment experiences, it is the fact that according to Mercer, 90% of companies report studying gender as a diversity segment, 75% report studying race and ethnicity, but ONLY 4% of companies investigate disability as a diversity segment.
This data point along with our report findings led us to create, Amplify, the first every disability climate and culture survey. The survey will allow companies to understand the experiences of their employees with disabilities and gain actionable insights that will help advance disability inclusion in your company. We are getting great feedback about Amplify as a valuable tool for companies. The survey will run from September 2-17th, and companies will get results in October for National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
So, if you are ready to stop talking and start doing (as our home page says) we encourage you to sign up to have your company participate in the Amplify survey. Feel free to set up an appointment with me to learn more. You can reach out to info@globaldisabilityinclusion.com or contact me via linked in.