As more corporations and government agencies integrate supplier diversity as a key component within an overall diversity and inclusion strategy, progress continues to be made in recognizing and elevating disability-owned businesses within supplier diversity programs. The 2020 Disability Equality Index (DEI) results not only highlight leading business practices but illustrate the opportunities to further advance disability inclusion.
QUICK STATS FROM THE 2020 DEI
72%
OF COMPANIES SPEND WITH DISABILITY-OWNED BUSINESSES
64%
OF COMPANIES SPEND WITH CERTIFIED DOBE®s
65%
OF COMPANIES HAVE TIER 2 PROGRAMS
Disability:IN Inclusion Works Community of Companies out-perform other companies in nearly every Supplier Diversity metric measured.
DID YOU KNOW?
Disability:IN’s Supplier Diversity program is the leading third-party certifier of disability-owned business enterprises (DOBE®s), including Veteran Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (V-DOBE™s) and Service-Disabled Veteran Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (SDV-DOBE™s). Learn more about the Supplier Diversity Program.
OPPORTUNITIES
BEST PRACTICES
Tier I Language at Accenture
Within our global supplier inclusion and diversity practice, we include in our agreements with our Tier I suppliers language that they will commit to working with disability-owned suppliers and/or suppliers that employ persons with disabilities.
Global Supplier Diversity at Bristol Myers Squibb
The Global Supplier Diversity team has started a Policymaker Engagement initiative, expanding to engage with Disability:IN and other advocacy groups to inform state and federal policymakers on important policy issues to BMS and our partners that include DOBE suppliers, our collective footprints in their states and legislative districts, the importance of supplier and vendor diversity, and services or products that assist BMS to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases.
BRG + Supplier Diversity Success at Novant Health
Supplier Diversity has recently partnered with the Persons with Abilities BRG to provide vendor support and creativity in areas of opportunity. In 2019, at the Novant Health Leaders Retreat, closed captioning was provided by a firm that BRG leaders attended. This option for those who are hard of hearing was directly related to the BRG participation in supplier diversity efforts.
Universal Design at Merck
Universal Design is an initiative through the Global Workforce Enterprise Services that is creating universally accessible workplaces on Merck sites. Universal Design is ensuring that all Merck employees can comfortably and safely access their workplace; the project has been a collaborative process with a Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE).
