Organizations that implement disability-inclusive policies and practices tend to outperform their peers financially, according to a new report by Accenture in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities.
Building on a 2018 report on disability inclusion in the workplace, the 2023 iteration explored the topic amid major technological advances, changes in geopolitical dynamics and the effects of a global pandemic. This year’s report looked at 346 U.S. companies that participated in the Disability Equality Index.
According to the study, companies that incorporated disability-inclusive practices—such as using videos with captions and routinely seeking input from employees with disabilities—over the last five years experienced:
- 1.6 times more revenue.
- 2.6 times more net income.
- 2 times more economic profit.
Furthermore, Glassdoor reviews of companies that participated in the Disability Equality Index between 2010 and 2021 mentioned disability inclusion in the workplace five times more than reviews of their industry peers, suggesting that employees are paying attention to their companies’ inclusion efforts.
“Our landmark study demonstrated the relationship between business performance and corporate disability inclusion,” said Reid Jewett Smith, director of research and policy at Disability:IN. “We were thrilled to discover that the relationship between performance and inclusion has only grown stronger in the intervening years.”
