FAQs

FAQs2023-10-17T10:11:11-04:00
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Disability Equality Index 2023 Best Places To Work

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General

What is the Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:14:31-04:00

The Disability Equality Index is an objective, reflective, forward-thinking, and confidential disability rating tool designed to assist business in advancing inclusion practices. It is a comprehensive benchmark that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions across five scored categories: Culture & Leadership, Enterprise-Wide Access, Employment Practices, Community Engagement, and Supplier Diversity (U.S. scoring framework; international scoring varies slightly). The Index has become the leading independent, third-party resource for the annual benchmarking of corporate disability inclusion policies and programs and is now trusted by more than 70% of the Fortune 100 and nearly half of the Fortune 500.

What is the cost associated with completing the Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:20:01-04:00

Registration for the 2024 Disability Equality Index is complimentary for current Disability:IN Corporate Partners for all eight of the available country benchmarks. For non-partners, the registration cost is USD $900 which entitles your company to register for one country with an incremental cost of USD $200 for each additional country being registered. The total maximum registration cost for a non-partner is USD $2,300 if registering for all eight available countries as part of the 2024 Disability Equality Index. 

What are the eligibility criteria for the Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:16:21-04:00

Companies that are part of the Fortune 1000 and/or the Fortune Global 500 or law firms among the Am Law 200 are eligible to participate in the Disability Equality Index as are organizations of similar size and scope. Generally, companies featured on comparable in-country lists operating within the Disability Equality Index countries of Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom are also invited to participate.

Other organizations eligible to participate include the following, provided they have 500 or more full-time employees in the countries being benchmarked as of Jan. 1, 2023:

  • Private sector (for-profit, non-government) employers that are not owned by a larger incorporated entity
  • Businesses owned by a larger incorporated entity must be rated and represented on the Disability Equality Index and its related publications as part of the larger entity. Exceptions to this policy are made on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Disability Equality Index staff, typically only for those businesses in a temporary restructuring process (e.g., temporarily owned or taken private by a private equity firm before being spun off as an independent entity or sold), or for situations where a subsidiary entity wishes to participate under the condition that the larger entity will participate in a subsequent year.
  • Businesses that serve as a subsidiary of a foreign-based multinational business
  • Foreign-owned private companies on behalf of their operations in the country being benchmarked
What countries are available for benchmarking as part of the Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:17:25-04:00

The Disability Equality Index will celebrate its 10th year in 2024 with the launch of scored benchmarks outside of the United States for the first time. A two-year global pilot in 2021-22 that spanned 98 companies and 66 countries revealed compelling insights and illuminated the need for country-specific benchmarks that consider localized factors such as legal and regulatory frameworks, cultural and societal attitudes and behaviors towards disability, and market factors that impact how business is done.

Each of the following countries will be available for registration for a scored benchmark as part of the 2024 Disability Equality Index.

  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Germany
  • India
  • Japan
  • Philippines
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

Participating companies can register for one country or up to all eight countries which span the regions of Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and South America. Each country benchmark is independently evaluated and scored and will not impact scoring for other registered countries; if a company registers for three countries, such as the United States, India and Canada, that country will receive three separate scores – one each for the U.S., India and Canada.  

How do I register for the Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:53:44-04:00

Registration for the 2024 Disability Equality Index can be completed beginning Oct. 11, 2023, from an all-new integrated registration application. This integrated application will allow companies to register for one country only or up to all eight Disability Equality Index countries during the same registration process. This registration system also does not require any codes to register. It should take less than 10 minutes to complete the registration process. The window to complete registration closes on Jan. 26, 2024.

What is the scoring methodology for the Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:21:48-04:00

The U.S. version of the Disability Equality Index measures a wide range of criteria within the following five (5) categories. A similar scoring framework will be introduced for each of the seven international benchmarks being launched in 2024. Participating companies receive a score, on a scale of zero (0) to 100, with those scoring 80 or higher earning the distinction of “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion” for the benchmark year.

  • Culture & Leadership (30 points total; 20 for Culture, 10 for Leadership) – Businesses commit to and demonstrate a sustained, visible cultural commitment to disability inclusion and demonstrate visible leadership commitment to disability inclusion throughout the organization.
  • Enterprise-Wide Access (10 points) – Businesses commit to and demonstrate commitment to workplace accessibility.
  • Employment Practices (40 points total, 10 each for the subcategories of Accommodations; Benefits; Employment, Education, Retention & Advancement; and Recruitment) – Businesses commit to and demonstrate commitment to benefits, recruitment practices, employment practices, and accommodation practices that fully incorporate and include individuals with disabilities.
  • Community Engagement (10 points) – Businesses demonstrate public-facing engagement practices that celebrate and support individuals with disabilities.
  • Supplier Diversity (10 points) – Businesses commit to and demonstrate supplier diversity practices that fully include and utilize Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs), including Service-Disabled Veteran DOBEs and Veteran DOBEs.
What is the history of the Disability Equality Index and how was it developed?2023-10-16T16:22:33-04:00

The Disability Equality Index was originally created as a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the United States’ largest disability rights organization, and Disability:IN, the global business disability inclusion network, to collectively advance the inclusion of people with disabilities. The complementary organizations leveraged unique strengths to make the project relevant and credible to corporations and the disability community.

The benchmark’s initial design and early iterations were informed by the Disability Equality Index Advisory Committee which was a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts, and disability advocates. The framework and methodology for the Disability Equality Index was patterned after the original Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) as both instruments are intended to be confidential, transparent tools to enable corporations to receive an objective score on their self-reported policies and practices.  

Following a pilot with 48 participating U.S. companies in 2014, the Disability Equality Index officially launched as a scored benchmark in 2015 with 80 U.S. companies. Today as the Disability Equality Index enters its 10th year in 2024, participation has grown 6x from the tool’s inaugural year to 485 U.S. participants in 2023.

A two-year unscored Global Disability Equality Index pilot concluded in 2022. The pilot was limited to select companies and achieved participation from 98 companies spanning 66 countries. Findings from the global pilot informed the launch of a scored benchmark that will open in 2024 to seven new countries in addition to the United States.

How will my company information that I submit as a part of the Disability Equality Index be used?2023-10-16T16:25:30-04:00

The score range for the Disability Equality Index is zero (0) to 100, with 100 being the highest score possible. Scores are in increments of 10.  Top-scoring companies that have a score of 80 or higher are publicly recognized by their company name and score through social media, press releases, listing on the Disability:IN and/or American Association of People with Disabilities websites, at the Disability:IN Global Conference & Expo, and by other methods.

The breakdown of a company’s score is not published.  For example, if a company scores 90, it is only stated that the company scored 90. It is not disclosed in which category the 10 points were not earned. Companies that score below 80 are kept confidential; their score and participation in the Disability Equality Index is not made public. Only authorized company representatives are provided with company information such as scored reports and scorecards. In general, Disability Equality Index results are reported in aggregate, and all company benchmark responses are used to report aggregate results, regardless of the benchmark score.

What resources exist to help my company utilize our Disability Equality Index results to advance disability inclusion in our organization?2023-10-16T16:31:08-04:00

Each company that completes the Disability Equality Index will receive a custom scored report that details the company’s responses to every Disability Equality Index question. A custom scorecard which highlights performance by category along with insights on areas of strength as well as potential improvement is also included.

Disability:IN also offers customized, company-specific Disability Equality Index Deep Dive presentations. These 60-minute virtual sessions allow for a Disability:IN team member to provide analysis, insights, and recommendations related to your company’s Disability Equality Index results. The presentation examines your company’s responses to the benchmark questions and compares your results to the aggregate performance of all participating companies as well as industry-specific insights. Deep Dive presentations can be scheduled using Disability:IN’s Engagement Request Form and are available as a complimentary partnership benefit for companies at the Influencer, Presenting and Headliner levels as well as for Inclusion Works companies or at an additional cost for non-partners or companies at the Connecter, Collaborator or Thought Leader levels. Please contact Mackenzie Ward, Director of Corporate Relations, at [email protected] with questions about partnerships and pricing.

About the 2024 DEI

What is the timeline for the 2024 Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:13:38-04:00

Registration for the 2024 Disability Equality Index opens in Fall 2023 with the benchmark closing in Spring 2024. The following dates are provided for planning purposes only and are subject to change:

  • Registration Opens: Oct. 11, 2023
  • Registration Closes: Jan. 26, 2024
  • Benchmark Opens: Jan. 29, 2024
  • Benchmark Closes: April 12, 2024
  • Disability Equality Index Report & Top-Scoring Companies List Released: July 15, 2024
What were the results of the 2023 Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:33:32-04:00

The Disability Equality Index has become the leading independent, third-party resource for benchmarking disability inclusion policies and programs inside corporations, and is now trusted by more than 70% of the Fortune 100 and nearly half of the Fortune 500. Since its inception in 2015, participation in the Disability Equality Index has grown 6x – from 80 companies in the benchmark’s inaugural year to 485 in 2023. A total of 405 companies achieved top scorer status on the 2023 DEI with scores of 80 and above, and these companies have been recognized as 2023’s “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion”.

2023 Top-Scoring Companies

A visible commitment to disability inclusion by senior leadership is highly correlated with strong performance on the Disability Equality Index as more than 80% of the 175+ companies whose CEO has signed Disability:IN’s CEO Letter on Disability Inclusion scored 80 or above in 2023. The companies that have completed the Disability Equality Index and the leaders who’ve signed the CEO Letter recognize that the 1.3 billion people living with a disability worldwide represent a tremendous source of talent and innovation for their workforce and market share for their brands, and they’re leveraging the Disability Equality Index to help them build accessible, equitable, and inclusive businesses that resonate with people with disabilities.

Among the practices that have become foundational to a disability-inclusive organization, 89% of 2023 U.S. participants indicated that they have a disability-focused Employee Resource Group and 91% include disability-focused information in new hire orientation. Workplace mental wellness and flexible work options became critical points of emphasis during the Covid-19 pandemic, and these trends only appear to be strengthening post-pandemic as 99% of U.S. participants report offering flexible work options (up from 96% in 2022) and 85% offer wellness benefits that extend beyond their employee assistance program (EAP) and mental health benefits (84% in 2022). All of this points to a growing collective voice that is calling for greater disability inclusion inside corporations, galvanized by an increased emphasis on confidential self identification initiatives. A total of 93% of 2023 U.S. participants encourage employees to self-identify as a person with a disability (91% in 2022), and this focus likely contributes to a rise in median corporate self identification rates to 4.6% among companies reporting data which is up from a median of 4% in 2022.

Additionally, a two-year unscored Global Disability Equality Index pilot concluded in 2022. The pilot was limited to select companies and achieved participation from 98 companies spanning 66 countries. Findings from the global pilot informed the launch of a scored benchmark opening in 2024 to a broader range of companies.

To learn more about the results of the 2023 Disability Equality Index, including key insights and trends mapped across the Disability Equality Index’s adoption framework, check out the 2023 Disability Equality Index Report.

Stay Informed / Contact Us

Who can I contact for more information about the Disability Equality Index?2023-10-16T16:34:22-04:00

If you have additional questions about the Disability Equality Index, please contact us at [email protected].

About Our Organizations

About the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)2021-07-07T18:53:48-04:00

AAPD is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power for people with disabilities. As a national cross-disability rights organization AAPD advocates for full civil rights for the 50+ million Americans with disabilities.

For more information on AAPD, visit www.aapd.com.

About Disability:IN2021-07-07T18:54:17-04:00

Disability:IN is a catalyst for businesses globally to take positive action that expands disability inclusion and equity. More than 270 corporations trust Disability:IN to influence disability inclusion across their enterprises and in the broader corporate mainstream. Disability:IN works with leading businesses to create long-term business and societal impact through the world’s most comprehensive disability inclusion benchmarking tool, the Disability Equality Index (DEI); best-in-class conferences and programs; and expert counsel and engagement. Join us at disabilityin.org/AreYouIN #AreYouIN.

For more information on Disability:IN, visit Disability:IN > About.

A joint initiative of:

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AAAPD: American Association of People with Disabilities
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