{"id":5164,"date":"2021-05-28T10:22:17","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T08:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disabilityconnect.co.za\/?p=5164"},"modified":"2021-05-28T10:22:17","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T08:22:17","slug":"500-ceos-of-major-organisations-create-the-worlds-biggest-community-for-disability-business-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/28\/500-ceos-of-major-organisations-create-the-worlds-biggest-community-for-disability-business-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"500 CEOs of major organisations create the world\u2019s biggest community for disability business inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Global business collective, The Valuable 500, announces it has reached its milestone of securing commitments from 500 global CEOs and their companies worldwide.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Global business collective, The Valuable 500<\/a>, announces it has reached its goal of 500 international organisations committing to put disability inclusion on their board agenda, making it the world\u2019s biggest CEO collective for disability inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since The Valuable 500 was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at Davos in 2019, some of the most recognisable businesses from across the world have joined the campaign for inclusion, including Allianz, Apple, BBC, BP, The Coca-Cola Company, Daimler, Deloitte, EY, Google, Microsoft, Nestle, P&G, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Prada, Shell, Sky, Sony, Twitter, Unilever, Virgin Media, Verizon and Vodafone. The membership includes 36 of the FTSE 100 companies, 46 of the Fortune 500 and 28 of the Nikkei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Massive reach and influence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Almost three quarters (70%) of its members, have a turnover of over $1 billion, with half (52%) of those committed to the campaign employing more than 10,000 people. The organisations supporting The Valuable 500 have a combined revenue of over $8 trillion and over 20 million employees across 36 countries, demonstrating the weight of The Valuable 500\u2019s reach and influence. Particularly strong sectors pushing for disability inclusion through the campaign include the finance, food & drink, hospitality, big tech computing & telecoms and legal industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organisations supporting The Valuable 500 have a combined revenue of over $8 trillion and over 20 million employees across 36 countries, demonstrating the weight of The Valuable 500\u2019s reach and influence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Disability disclosure by business leaders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This comes as new research from The Valuable 500 and Tortoise Media<\/a> 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 reinforces that while disability inclusion is now on the business agenda, it still has a long way to go before true inclusion is achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average representation of people with disabilities amongst employees as reported by FTSE 100 companies currently stands at only 3.2%, compared to the percentage of the wider population with a disability, which sits at 18%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAVE YOU READ: Grow Right \u2013 Building A More Inclusive, Diverse And Empowered South African Workforce<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

1 in 3 companies failing to meet website accessibility standards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the new research shows stark findings on disability inclusion across the FTSE 100, it also indicates that this is set to change, with 16 out of the 100 companies having set credible targets related to representation of people with disabilities, and more set to put these targets in place. This includes 37 companies within the FTSE 100 setting up employee resource groups, or equivalents, to specifically support people with disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All members of The Valuable 500 have made a public commitment to advancing disability inclusion within their organisations \u2013 whether it be employee, customer or supply chain related, positive change is already in action. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Their commitments include the appointment of advisory boards or specialists, as pledged by Sky, Lenovo and Pladis, setting up a global employee network as initiated by Allianz, increased representation, as championed by the BBC, advertising campaigns featuring people with disabilities, as launched by Kurt Geiger and Tesco, adaptive product ranges promoted by Tommy Hilfiger, PVH Corp and UGG, and employment opportunities, as pioneered by companies including Unilever, IHG and AutoTrader. Major technology and communications companies including Verizon, Adobe, GSMA and Microsoft have already taken steps to improve digital accessibility in their products and wider industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phase 2 begins now<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since reaching the goal of 500 organisations in May 2021, The Valuable 500 has launched phase 2 of the campaign, which will see the 500 major organisations 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 catalyse new Valuable 500 initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of phase 2, 13 Iconic Leaders across The Valuable 500 will co-fund, co-build and co-test the programmes and solutions, using their industry experience to help catalyse progress for the entire community. These leaders are Allianz, BBC, Deloitte, EY, Google, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., LSEG, Omnicom, P&G, Salesforce, Sony, Sky and Verizon. The CEOs of all of these companies are committed to working together to lead by example and transform the business system for disability inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joining these 13 iconic leaders and the community today as the 500th<\/sup> company, Apple has become the Iconic partner for Inclusive Design. This will help ensure that The Valuable 500 can drive the highest levels of inclusive design and share that knowledge within the community of members, and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leveraging their Self-ID work, Google <\/strong>and Deloitte<\/strong> will be working together to carry out an internal census playbook that will enable our signatories to understand disability within their workforce and any barriers that currently exist to inclusion within the organisation. Salesforce<\/strong> and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. <\/strong>will facilitate a jobs portal made by people with disabilities to ensure greater access to opportunities and more diverse workforces. P&G<\/strong> and Omnicom<\/strong> will conduct a brand audit, to help our signatories gain insight from disabled consumers, driving innovation opportunities. EY<\/strong> and Sky<\/strong> will be supporting the build out of a global research panel of 5,000 people with disabilities to give direct insight on the workings of the 500 companies. Allianz<\/strong> and The London Stock Exchange Group<\/strong> will contribute to The Inclusive Index Programme, to influence the indices to incorporate disability measures into their criteria. Sony<\/strong> will be supporting the increased representation for disabled people both on and off camera. Verizon<\/strong> will largely be focused on inclusive technology and equipping a pipeline of next-gen talent with accessibility skills, whilst the BBC<\/strong> is supporting Valuable Virtual \u2013 to enable the community to share their ideas virtually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAVE YOU READ: How To Stop Tokenism Of Disability In The Workforce<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Caroline Casey, Founder of The Valuable 500, commented: <\/strong>\u201cToday 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 \u2013 it\u2019s all about intention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Polman, Chairman of The Valuable 500 and former CEO of Unilever, commented: <\/strong>\u201cI am delighted to be part of The Valuable 500 as we hit this important goal. Since the launch of #Valuable at One Young World in Bogota in 2017 and the inception of The Valuable 500 at Davos in 2019, the campaign\u2019s ambitious goal to fundamentally transform the global business system and fight for an equal and inclusive society has made incredible progress. I am proud to have been part of the journey from the beginning and continue to play a role as the campaign enters phase 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith Tortoise\u2019s research today showing that only a small minority of the FTSE 100 are actively tackling and addressing disability inclusion at a leadership level, there is plenty more business leaders globally can and must do to better serve the 1.3 billion people worldwide with disabilities. The commitments made by the 500 global companies over the course of the last two years have already made a tangible difference, and I greatly look forward to playing a role in activating this network and accelerating disability inclusion worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vladimir Cuk, Executive Director of the International Disability Alliance, commented: <\/strong>\u201cThe Valuable 500 collective reaching its goal marks an important moment for the disability inclusion community globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough the disabled community still encounters many barriers, the important work of Caroline and the 500 business leaders who have joined her in committing to the campaign has already made a difference for millions of employees and consumers across the world, and will continue to do so as the campaign progresses.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am thrilled to have been involved in The Valuable 500\u2019s achievements as it hits this historic goal, and look forward to being involved in the progress the campaign will undoubtedly continue to make through phase 2.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, commented: \u201c<\/strong>I am very happy to share this significant moment in time as Global Impact Partner of The Valuable 500. The Nippon Foundation has been dedicated to supporting persons with disabilities by providing opportunities to access higher education with the hope of making them leaders in their own countries for more than 50 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, through these experiences, I am fully convinced that supporting minority disability groups and reaching out to public institutions or governments will not bring about effective social change. Unless the majority of the society changes, the world will never change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe challenge of the Valuable 500, which involves major global corporations, will mark a new phase in disability support from a business perspective. I am hoping this community will be utilised to the fullest extent and help to promote disability inclusion in the business environment, so that the whole of society will get one step closer to a truly inclusive one that everyone can participate in, either with or without disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Global business collective, The Valuable 500, announces it has reached its milestone of securing commitments from 500 global CEOs and their companies worldwide. Global business collective, The Valuable 500, announces it has reached its goal of 500 international organisations committing to put disability inclusion on their board agenda, making it the world\u2019s biggest CEO collective […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58,152],"tags":[172,332],"class_list":["post-5164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","category-in-the-workplace","tag-disability-inclusion","tag-valuable-500"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}