Last month, the U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted the Global Disability Employment Summit in Washington D.C.

This inaugural summit was an opportunity for international businesses to come together to explore the benefits of disability inclusion, and discuss its importance in the workforce, marketplace and supply chain.

Those present attended several breakout sessions, and collaborated on ways to promote accessibility, supplier diversity and government regulations outside the U.S. Throughout the day, attendees gained valuable information.

• Representatives from Sprint, Comcast NBCUniversal, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, and United Technologies Corporation discussed the evolution of technology and its significance on accessibility.
• Executives from Bender Consulting Services, Wells Fargo, EY, and Accenture addressed the concerns associated with finding and tracking disability-owned businesses outside of the U.S. They also discussed different ways companies can further diversify their supply chains.
• Lastly, representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, IBM, Facebook, 3M, and UPS offered their perspective on how companies are working to make their workforces more inclusive of people with disabilities.

Perhaps the day’s most impactful message came from Jill Houghton, President and CEO of USBLN, when she announced the launch of an on-line global self-registry for suppliers outside the United States.

The USBLN has been advocating for disability inclusion in the workplace and workforce for over 20 years. Throughout that time, its steadily growing corporate partnership network has requested the global expansion of the USBLN’s most successful programs, specifically the disability-owned business enterprise (DOBE) certification program. The on-line registry is a natural first step as the USBLN explores a global growth strategy for other signature programs, like the Disability Equality Index and the Disability Supplier Diversity Program.

The USBLN is working alongside the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), WEConnect International and others from the National Business Inclusion Consortium in order to expand various global diversity inclusion efforts.

Visit usbln.org for more information about the newly launched global self-registry for disability-owned business enterprises.