Leaders hold the key to disability inclusion in business. They set the tone, shape priorities, and allocate resources to ensure that the 16% of us with a disability have opportunities to contribute, innovate, and thrive.
The System Barrier
Disability inclusion is still largely absent from C-suite and board-level planning due to fear of getting it wrong, limited understanding, and outdated perceptions.
Our research with Valuable 500 partners and companies reveals that, while 12% of executives have disabilities and 78% have personal connections to disability, only 3% ever speak openly about these experiences in the workplace.
While lived disability experience brings invaluable insights, we know that inclusive leadership can be developed through personal connection or acquired understanding of disability. However, few leaders – with or without disabilities – have developed the confidence to champion disability inclusion as a strategic priority.
This silence at the highest levels means disability remains off corporate agendas, perpetuating a cycle of exclusion throughout business – from employment practices to marketing and product design.
Synchronised Collective Action
When leaders visibly and vocally champion disability inclusion, it creates a powerful ripple effect throughout the organisation – reducing stigma, driving innovation, and creating meaningful change. Disability-inclusive leadership transforms organisations by bringing the perspectives of 1.3 billion people into strategic decisions, ensuring 16% of us gain equal opportunity to contribute, innovate, and thrive.
Our Valuable 500 companies and partners are taking Synchronised Collective Action on inclusive leadership by participating in Generation Valuable – a groundbreaking reciprocal mentoring programme that pairs C-suite executives with rising disabled talent. This transformative initiative not only elevates disabled professionals into leadership pipelines but also equips current executives with authentic disability perspectives, creating a powerful cycle of inclusive leadership development across global business.
