The Disability 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, Community Engagement, Supplier Diversity, and (unweighted) Responsible Procurement. The Index is the leading independent, third-party resource for the annual benchmarking of corporate disability inclusion policies and programs and is trusted by more than 70% of the Fortune 100 and nearly half of the Fortune 500.

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 Index as are organizations of similar size and scope. Generally, companies featured on comparable in-country lists operating within the Disability 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 300 or more full-time employees in the countries being benchmarked as of Jan. 1, 2024:

• 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 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 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

Each of the following countries will be available for registration for a scored benchmark as part of the 2025 Disability 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.  

Registration for the 2025 Disability 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 2025 Disability Index. 

Registration for the 2025 Disability Index can be completed beginning October 8, 2024 from an integrated registration application. This integrated application will allow companies to register for one country only or up to all eight Disability 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 April 11, 2025 when all final benchmark submissions are due.

The Disability Index was originally created as a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN to collectively advance disability inclusion in business.

The benchmark’s initial design and early iterations were informed by the Disability Index Advisory Committee which was a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts, and disability advocates. The framework and methodology for the Disability Index was designed to be a confidential, comprehensive tool that enables 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 Index officially launched as a scored benchmark in 2015 with 80 U.S. companies. Today as the Disability Index enters its second decade in 2025, participation has grown 7x from the tool’s inaugural year to 542 participants in 2024.

A two-year unscored Global Disability 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 opened in 2024 to seven new countries in addition to the United States.

Top-scoring companies will have the option of being publicly recognized by their company name through social media, on the Disability:IN website, and celebrated at the Disability:IN Global Conference & Expo.

The breakdown of a company’s score is not published. Participation is always confidential and public recognition as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” is optional. Only authorized company representatives are provided with company information such as scored reports and scorecards. In general, Disability Index results are reported in aggregate, and all company benchmark responses are used to report aggregate results, regardless of the benchmark score.

Participation in the Disability Index has and will continue to be confidential. Recognition for top-scoring companies is optional and at the discretion of all participating companies.

Top-scoring companies earn the distinction of “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion.” Earning a top score on the Disability Index has the potential to build brand recognition among current and future employees, investors, and customers.

2024 Top-Scoring Companies

Recognition and benefits include:

• Use of the “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion” logo
• Support with digital marketing communications, including a messaging toolkit, press release templates, sample social media posts and other creative assets
• Invitation to exclusive networking and recognition events for top-scoring companies

A top score does not mean to convey “perfection”. A top score simply means that a company adheres to many of the numerous leading disability inclusion practices featured in the Disability Index, however, there always remains room for improvement.

Each company that completes the Disability Index will receive a custom scored report that details the company’s responses to every Disability 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 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 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 Mackenzie@disabilityin.org with questions about partnerships and pricing.