Employers committed to the inclusion of qualified people with
disabilities in the competitive workplace and as consumers

Workforce Diversity

Whether it be because of the shrinking size of traditional labor pools, the need to comply with legislation, the recognition of the importance of minority customer bases, or the recognition that good talent comes in all kinds of different packages, most forward-thinking companies are investing in efforts to diversify their workforces - to find effective ways to include and accommodate people from non-traditional sources of talent.

While women and visible minorities were some of the first groups to benefit from these more inclusionary hiring practices, many other groups, including people with disabilities are adding new colors to the diversity spectrum.

 

RESOURCES  Diversity, Disability and the USBLN - An online video from the US Business Leadership Network featuring facts, figures and interviews with leading employers. Diversity includes Disability - U. S. Department of Labor - Article on the basics of disability inclusion as part of workforce diversity initiatives. Diversity, Disability, and Deb Dagit: Working for an Inclusive Corporate America - Article from the World Institute on Disability on Deb Dagit, Executive Director of Diversity & Work Environment for Merck & Co., Inc. Employees with Disabilities: Deliberately Yours - Article from Diversity World on the signs of authentic and fully inclusive workforce diversity. WORKFORCE DIVERSITY – Disability Excluded - Article from Diversity World on why disability is sometimes excluded by some diversity practitioners or initiatives. THE OREGON EXPERIENCE Kaiser Permanente - Read about the key focus on people with disabilities within their diversity initiatives.

"American companies have come to understand the value of workforce diversity but, quite frankly, the diversity picture of any business that isn’t readily hiring people with disabilities is incomplete. "

- Neil Romano, Assistant Secretary  for Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor

"Disability needs to become an equal part of a company’s diversity initiatives. Disability is still at the back of the Diversity Bus. It is still behind all the other dimensions of workforce diversity."

- Steve Hanamura, President, Hanamura Consulting

"Most of the twenty-seven people who work for me now, in some way, have some kind of a disability. If you are looking for good workers, you just can’t ignore that part of the workforce represented by people with disabilities."

- Todd Londin, Owner, First Impressions Last, LLC

"Employing people with disabilities is really about inclusion and seeing it as an opportunity... We look at it as another opportunity to make us a stronger company."

- Bill Tolbert, Recruiter, New Seasons Market

"Companies who understand diversity understand that your work force has to marry your marketplace. People with disabilities are in your marketplace. People with disabilities should be in your workforce."

- Katherine McCary, Vice President with SunTrust Banks, Inc., and President of the US Business Leadership Network.

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