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2024 Top-Scoring Companies
The Disability Equality Index covers Culture & Leadership, Enterprise-Wide Access, Employment Practices, Community Engagement, Supplier Diversity and Responsible Procurement (unweighted). Each company participating in the index 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 Disability Equality Index was created in 2015 in collaboration with AAPD.
A score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index does not indicate or imply perfection. There is always room to advance disability inclusion regardless of one’s score. A score of 100 indicates adherence to many leading disability inclusion practices.
About the Disability Equality Index
The Disability Equality Index® is the leading independent, third-party resource for the annual benchmarking of disability inclusion policies and programs by multinational corporations. It is trusted by more than 70% of the Fortune 100 and nearly half of the Fortune 500. Such companies must increasingly consider how emerging global reporting directives and stakeholder expectations surrounding social and corporate governance factors impact their operational, cultural, reputational and financial performance.
Since its inception in 2015, participation in the Disability Equality Index has grown 7x – from 80 companies in the inaugural year to 542 in 2024. The Disability Equality Index commemorated its 10th anniversary in 2024 by expanding beyond the United States for the first time, offering scored benchmarks in seven additional countries: Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. The Disability Equality Index will be available in the same eight countries for 2025.
2025 Disability Equality Index Timeline
The following dates are provided for planning purposes only and are subject to change:
- Registration Opens: October 8, 2024
- Benchmark Opens for Completion: February 3, 2025
- Benchmark Submission Period Closes: April 11, 2025
- Disability Equality Index Report & Top-Scoring Companies List Released: July 14, 2025
Downloadable Excel files of the 2025 Disability Equality Index questions for all eight countries will be available here soon, so check back frequently for updates.
Methodology & Scoring
Developed by Disability:IN with support from corporate executives and disability community advocates through the Disability Equality Index Advisory Committee, 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 the following categories: Culture; Leadership; Enterprise-Wide Access; Employment Practices (including the sub-categories of Accommodations, Benefits, Recruitment, and Employment, Education, Retention & Advancement); Community Engagement; Supplier Diversity; and (unweighted) Responsible Procurement.
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. A score of 100 does not represent perfection; it simply indicates that a company has in place many of the policies, practices and programs generally consistent with a disability-inclusive company while still having areas for potential improvement.
| Category | Points (U.S.) | Points (International) |
|---|---|---|
| Culture – Businesses create and demonstrate a visible, sustained cultural commitment to disability inclusion across the enterprise | 20 | 20 |
| Leadership – Businesses possess and demonstrate a strategic commitment to disability inclusion as evidenced by engagement from senior executives | 10 | 10 |
| Enterprise-Wide Access – Businesses demonstrate a commitment to making their digital and physical products, services and environments accessible and useable for people with disabilities | 10 | 15 |
| Benefits – Companies provide employees with benefits offerings that are consistent with disability-inclusive best practices | 10 | 15 |
| Recruitment – Businesses demonstrate policies and practices for talent acquisition that are consistent with advancing disability employment outcomes | 10 | 10 |
| Employment, Education, Retention & Advancement – Businesses demonstrate policies and practices shown to support professional development, retention and advancement for employees with disabilities | 10 | 10 |
| Accommodations – Businesses demonstrate that they have in place the policies and practices that support employees with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations/job adjustments | 10 | 10 |
| Community Engagement – Businesses demonstrate a commitment to understand and support their external constituents with disabilities through philanthropic contributions and corporate communications that are accessible and authentically inclusive | 10 | 10 |
| Supplier Diversity – Businesses demonstrate practices that fully include and utilize Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs), including Service-Disabled Veteran DOBEs and Veteran DOBEs | 10 | Unscored |
| Responsible Procurement – Businesses demonstrate that they prioritize accessibility as part of the vendor management and procurement process when sourcing products and services from third-party suppliers | Unscored | Unscored |
“Best Places to Work” Recognition
Earning a score of 80 or above on the Disability Equality Index has the potential to build brand recognition among current and future employees, investors, and customers – including those with disabilities and their friends and families. Top-rated companies are named among the Disability Equality Index “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion™” along with other benefits such as:
- Use of 100, 90 or 80 “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” logo
- Listing among “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” on Disability Equality Index website
- Access to template press releases and quotes from Disability:IN leadership to support company messaging campaigns
- Support with digital marketing communications, including a messaging toolkit, sample social media posts and other creative assets
- Recognition at the annual Disability:IN Global Conference & Expo
- Invitation to exclusive networking and recognition events for top-rated companies
- Potential inclusion of company best practice(s) in the annual Disability Equality Index Report and/or other Disability:IN research
- Possible option to participate in proactive media pitches and/or reactive media responses to Disability Equality Index-related topics
Benefits of Participating
Industry Data and Analysis
A group of 30 distinct industries are now represented among the 542 companies that completed the 2024 Disability Equality Index, and unique opportunities exist to examine insights through industry-specific filters. Each company that completes the Disability Equality Index has complimentary access to the annual Disability Equality Index Report which contains aggregate findings from across industry sectors as well as an adoption framework that outlines the maturity of certain practices across companies.
Benchmarking Insight
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.
Networking Connections
Companies that participate in the Disability Equality Index become part of an informal community of practice that allows for networking, peer-to-peer benchmarking, and knowledge sharing. Opportunities exist to engage in formal networking events, panel discussions and other connection points both virtually throughout the year and in person at the annual Disability:IN Global Conference & Expo.
Disability Equality Index Deep Dives
Disability:IN 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.
For more details, visit our FAQs.
Disability Inclusion Drives Business Success
Groundbreaking research from Accenture in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) reveals the financial benefits of including people with disabilities in business.
Disability inclusion creates sustainable,
long-term performance value.
30 investors, representing $2.8 trillion, are calling on companies to be inclusive to people with disabilities. Companies have an opportunity to advance their journey of inclusion. Want to join this historical initiative?
Learn More
Need more information?
Contact Becky Kekula, Disability Equality Index Director
[email protected]
The Disability Equality Index is a joint initiative of
“Target, Eli Lilly Join the CEO Campaign”
By Jill Houghton, CEO