Disability Equality Index Top-Scoring Company Toolkit

Disability Equality Index 2022 Report The most comprehensive benchmarking tool for disability inclusion in business

Disability Equality Index Top-Scoring Company Toolkit

Congrats on earning a top score on the Disability Equality Index!

Announcement Date: Wednesday, July 20th 8:00 a.m. ET

Top-Scorers will be listed on this webpage:

https://disabilityin.org/what-we-do/disability-equality-index/2022companies/

Points of Contact

  • Becky Kekula, Director, Disability Equality Index, Disability:IN. [email protected].
  • Dorothy Garcia, Director, Global Disability Equality Index, Disability:IN. [email protected].

About the Disability Equality Index (Boilerplate)

The Disability Equality Index (DEI) is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions that they can take to achieve disability inclusion and equality. Each company receives a score, on a scale of zero (0) to 100, with those earning 80 and above recognized as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion.”

The DEI is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the nation’s largest disability rights organization, and Disability:IN, the global business disability inclusion network, to collectively advance the inclusion of people with disabilities. The organizations are complementary and bring unique strengths that make the project relevant and credible to corporations and the disability community. The DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts, and disability advocates, developed the Disability Equality Index. Learn more at: www.DisabilityEqualityIndex.org.

How We Recognize Your Company

On Wednesday, July 20th, Disability:IN and AAPD will make public announcements on all owned channels starting at 8:00am EDT. This includes social media, websites, and email campaigns.

Websites Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Instagram
Disability:IN DisabilityIN.org twitter.com/DisabilityIN facebook.com/DisabilityIN LinkedIn.com/company/DisabilityIN instagram.com/DisabilityIN
AAPD aapd.com twitter.com/AAPD facebook.com/DisabilityPowered LinkedIn.com/company/american-association-of-people-with-disabilities
Hashtags Recommended hashtags: #DisabilityInclusion #DEI22 #AreYouIN #BestPlaceToWork Recommended hashtags: #DEI22 #BestPlaceToWork Recommended hashtags: #DEI22 #AreYouIN #BestPlaceToWork Recommended hashtags: #DisabilityInclusion #BestPlaceToWork

After announcing all top-scoring companies of the DEI, Disability:IN will then recognize each top-scoring company individually on social media, throughout the year.

Please alert and encourage your corporate communications teams to share any social media posts from Disability:IN and/or AAPD recognizing your company’s efforts. We are more than happy to do the same for you, and amplify your company’s posts, if you tag us.

In-Person and On-Site at the Disability:IN Annual Conference in July 2022

On Wednesday, July 20, Disability:IN will recognize your top-scoring DEI company in a video on the main stage at the Disability:IN Annual Conference, Inclusion Awards Gala.

Since awards are being mailed directly to companies this year, top-scoring companies can stop by and get their photo taken with the DEI Award and backdrop on Wednesday, July 20th between 8am and 5pm, location information will be posted on the conference agenda. Additionally, photographers will be available during the DEI Top-Scorer Reception to take photos of your team with the DEI Award.

There’s still time to register: conference.disabilityin.org. Please contact Becky ([email protected]) or Dorothy ([email protected]) for more information.

Sharing with Stakeholders – Sample Formats

Below are numerous ways other top-scoring companies have shared their Disability Equality Index score in the past with stakeholders.

Press/News Release

Industry Specific Press

Stakeholder Impact Report

  • Salesforce’s FY21 Stakeholder Impact Report: The Office of Accessibility partners with internal stakeholders to ensure compliance, highlight accessibility needs, develop improvement plans, and build workforce development programs.

Website Spotlight

Your scorecard provides insight into how well your company has advanced inclusion for each category. There are six (6) categories within the 2022 DEI benchmark. We recommend taking relevant sections of the scorecard and meeting with team leads to review opportunities for advancement.

  • Culture & Leadership = HR
  • Enterprise-Wide Access = Technology, HR
  • Employment Practices = HR
  • Community Engagement = CSR
  • Supplier Diversity = Supplier Diversity
  • Non-U.S. Operations = Supplier Diversity, International, HR

As a top scoring company, your team may choose to communicate your top score with external stakeholders. Below are a few ways we have seen top-scoring companies communicate their scores:

Messaging Your Score

Do not use the term “perfect” in any of your DEI top-score promotional materials. “Top-score” or “top-scorer” are the preferred terms.

100% on the DEI does not constitute as a “perfect score”. There is always room to advance disability inclusion! Do not use the term “perfect” in any of your DEI top-score promotional materials. “Top-score” or “top-scorer” are the preferred terms.

Employers that have earned a one hundred score on the DEI have satisfied the criteria for that year and Disability:IN and AAPD will recognize your company as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion.” A score of 100 on the DEI simply means that a company adheres to many of the numerous leading disability inclusion practices featured in the DEI. It does not convey perfection.

These criteria are in place to encourage employers to participate in the index year after year to benchmark and track their progress. The criteria will evolve over time as more employers adopt existing criteria and new best practices emerge.

Other Messaging Requirements:

  • Always include that the DEI is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN.
  • Include registered mark “®” in superscript for first reference of the DEI. When referencing the DEI, include hyperlink to http://www.disabilityequalityindex.org

Feel free to use a variety of channels to message your score, including:

  • Company website
  • Career and/or diversity & inclusion webpage
  • Social media accounts
  • Email signature line
  • Press Release boilerplate
  • Recruiting materials
  • Employee Resource Group (ERG) materials
  • Self-Disclosure Campaigns
  • Company-wide town halls

Communications Assets and Materials

Your company’s main point of contact will receive the DEI score logo (100 / 90 / 80)

Press Release Key Messages & Approved Quotes (PDF) containing:

  • Pre-Approved Quotes from Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities
  • Boilerplates for each organization
  • Key Messaging

If you would like to use a custom graphic, download this graphic and place your company logo in the placeholder. To do this, just open this graphic in a photo editing software/platform.

Now Available – Spanish versions!

Feel free to tweak the following to better align with your company’s brand and voice.

  • Proud to be named a Disability Equality Index (DEI) #BestPlaceToWork for #DisabilityInclusion by @DisabilityIN @AAPD
  • (Company) is proud to have earned a XX% on the Disability Equality Index by @DisabilityIN @AAPD. Our score has made us a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion. #DEI22
  • We are thrilled to be a top scoring company on @DisabilityIN and @AAPD’s Disability Equality Index. (Company) is proud to be IN for #DisabilityInclusion. #DEI22
  • Proud of (Company’s) top-score on @DisabilityIN and @AAPD’s Disability Equality Index (DEI). We are thrilled by this benchmark of our efforts as we continue to advance disability inclusion. #DEI22
  • Honored to be a #BestPlaceToWork for #DisabilityInclusion on the Disability Equality Index.
  • Did you know that (Company) received a top score on @DisabilityIN and @AAPD’s Disability Equality Index? We are proud of our #DisabilityInclusion efforts and our commitment to #PwD.
  • Disability inclusion drives #innovation. (Company) values all talent and we’re proud to have earned a top score on the Disability Equality Index! #DEI22

It is a best practice to ensure all social media posts are accessible, especially if they are related to your company’s disability inclusion efforts. For example, photos should have alt-text descriptions and videos include captions. For additional guidance, we recommend reviewing our Toolkit for Creating Accessible Social Media Content. Other great resources are the Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad and How to Make Your Facebook or Instagram Posts More Accessible.

Additional Opportunities to Join IN!

As you review your scorecard, you may want to begin advancing inclusion in certain areas of business. The Disability:IN website, under “Resources”, has a variety of resources for teams to dive into, including “Roadmap to Mental Wellness”, “Disability Etiquette” and more.

Your DEI score came with data and insight on your scorecard. If you’d like a deep dive and learn more about how your company has earned a top-score, or what you can do to maintain or improve next year, please reach out to Becky Kekula.

Inclusion Works provides participating companies with unlimited, customized, virtual, and onsite consulting provided by a team of disability inclusion experts. We help you create an inclusive culture while simultaneously developing a sustainable recruitment strategy.

Joining Inclusion Works also connects your company to a Community of Corporations with exclusive meetings and shared best and evolving practices. To date the community of corporations have hired over 200,000 people with disabilities and has grown to over one hundred participating companies. Learn more about Inclusion Works.

Over 100 CEOs have ‘joined IN’ by signing the CEO Letter on Disability Inclusion. This is a CEO-only initiative highlighting the company’s commitment. Learn more:  DisabilityIN.org/releases/ceo-letter-on-disability-inclusion/.

Gain year over year benchmark insights and register for the 2023 DEI. Registration opens July 18, 2022. Register at www.disabilityequalityindex.org/register.

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