Davos, Switzerland 24.05.22: Today, the Valuable 500 – the largest network of global CEOs committed to disability inclusion, announces the launch of Generation Valuable, a programme designed to accelerate opportunities for people with disabilities to become the talented voices of tomorrow’s C-Suite. Generation Valuable will connect and incubate C-Suite talent with disabled talent and will have a profound effect on both.

Whether it be intentional or not, businesses exclude people with disabilities. Over 1.3 billion people across the world live with some form of disability yet, according to Return on Disability, only 4% of businesses are focused on making offerings inclusive of disabled people. Moreover, research shows that minority talent faces promotion barricades just below the Executive rung.

The Valuable 500 will take the renowned World Economic Forum stage to announce the launch of Generation Valuable seeking nominations of disabled talent who aspire to reach C-Suite level from its 500 members of the Collective. The programme will foster new perspectives, deepen understandings, cultivate growth and attack the challenges that rising disabled talent faces once they’ve achieved middle management.

There will be a concerted effort to ensure that the Generation Valuable mentees will be representative of all business functions, especially those with a P&L significance to their company rather than exclusively HR and DEI roles. The first cohort will consist of 75 rising stars with at least 5 years of experience, the announcement of which will coincide with International Day for Persons with Disabilities in December. With 15% of people living with a disability worldwide announcing the first 75 Generation Valuable mentees representing 15% of our Valuable 500 members holds great significance.

The first organizations to support the programme by agreeing to be part of the first cohort include  Deloitte, L’Oreal, Mahindra, MSD, Omnicom Group and P&G.

 

As one of the first organizations to join the Valuable 500, Omnicom is proud to be a part of Generation Valuable to help foster disability inclusion among tomorrow’s business leaders. Omnicom’s agencies have a strong pipeline of  talent with disabilities and we look forward to the insight and knowledge from this program in helping us achieve systemic diversity, equity and inclusion across our organization.

John Wren, Chairman and CEO, Omnicom

 

The Generation Valuable programme offers the business community a much-needed solution to help build a more inclusive pipeline to senior leadership and enable greater diversity for tomorrow’s C-suite. As a Valuable 500 Iconic Leader company, Deloitte is proud to participate in the first cohort of Generation Valuable to help progress disability inclusion, which supports Deloitte’s commitment to providing a workplace culture characterized by inclusive everyday behaviors and built on a foundation of respect and appreciation for diversity in all its forms.

Sharon Thorne, Global Board Chair, Deloitte

 

P&G believes that the Generation Valuable program is an important step to building the professional careers of People with Disabilities while providing valuable insights to senior leadership on disability inclusion. I have personally participated in the P&G People with Disabilities reverse mentorship program (established in 2013) and what really sets this program apart was the opportunity to be exposed to completely different perspectives and insights. The learnings here have helped me remain steadfast in moving our current programs forward, stay focused on our employees and consumers, and confirms we have more work to do.

Shelly McNamara, Chief Equality and Inclusion Officer, P&G

 

Respect for people is one of our core values. We embed inclusion and accountability in all that we do, cultivating a culture where our differences, abilities, and unique contributions are valued and celebrated. We are honored to be a founding member of the Generation Valuable program as we continue to elevate allyship and invest in our people’s growth, success, and well-being.

RobERT M. Davis, Chief executive officer and president, MSD

Ethical Leadership is at the core of the Valuable 500’s strategy. By mobilising the Collective to effect real change, by ensuring disability inclusion is on board agendas and by providing tangible solutions – the Valuable 500 will strive towards inclusion for all. The Generation Valuable programme will provide insight into C-Suite roles and divisions, equipping each participant with the knowledge, access and tools required to enhance their professional development.

The C-Suite executives will gain invaluable insight into the inclusion gaps within their business line strategies as well as the lived experience of disabled employees and consumers within their organisation and beyond. Generation Valuable will be an incredible launchpad for disability leaders and champions of today so that they can drive disability inclusion and accessibility efforts in their companies, influence cultural and systemic change and sit in the boardrooms of tomorrow.

Each Generation Valuable participant will be paired with a mentor at C-Suite level in their organisation. Over the course of one year the pair will engage in up to six discussions touching on each of the six pillars of the Valuable 500 Transformation programme and including other members of the C-Suite related to those impact areas. The six pillars are; C-Suite, Culture, Customer, Reporting, Representation and Research. In order to deliver against these pillars, the Valuable 500 are designing nine Iconic Solutions with their Iconic Leader companies.

The Valuable 500 is delighted to be collaborating and developing the programme with its Co-Chairs, KR Liu and Sam Latif.

KR Liu is a nationally awarded advocate, with a strong reputation in inclusive design, brand marketing, policy, and inclusion. Diagnosed with severe hearing loss at the age of three, KR has made it her life’s work to be a strong advocate and voice championing the way we connect in the world as a technology sales and marketing executive over the last two decades. KR is a passionate thought leader and advocate for disability inclusion, gender equality, and LGBTQ rights in technology and marketing. In addition to being on several boards (such as the American Association for People with Disabilities), in February 2022, KR Liu became one of President Biden’s Key Appointee to the United States Access Board.

 

It’s important that we continue to create and support disabled creatives and their path to influence and grow in the industry. I’m excited to partner with the Valuable 500 to develop and deliver Generation Valuable. We will continue supporting our future leaders and creative influencers that will shape global societal change for our disabled community.

KR Liu, Head Of Brand Accessibility at Google, Brand Studio

 

Sam Latif’s vision is to make Procter & Gamble’s products, services and the workplace the first choice for the 1.3 billion people in the world with a disability. Sam, who is blind, is P&G’s Accessibility Leader and has developed some of the industry’s incredibly impactful designs for consumers with disabilities, in her 21 years at P&G such as:

• Herbal Essence Tactile Markers – sensory enhanced bottles

• Clearblue’s Be My Eyes – pregnancy/fertility test app for blind & low vision user

• Olay’s Easy Open Lids – grip, braille, high contrast and easy open features

Sam is one of the nineteen members of A List, a new project from Allure that honours the people driving and shaping the future of beauty.

 

Embedding a culture of disability confidence within organisations is fundamental – and schemes like Generation Valuable will help to do just that. I know from my own experiences just how important it is to create connections with other colleagues, especially those at the most senior levels of our business – the ones who can help to drive meaningful, long-lasting change from the top down. P&G’s internal reverse mentoring programme ultimately led me to where I am today, moving from my role in IT to become the organisation’s first Company Accessibility Leader, responsible for driving innovation at a global level to make our brands, and company, more inclusive and accessible. That’s why I couldn’t be prouder to be working with The Valuable 500 as Co-Chair of Generation Valuable, enabling other organisations to become more disability confident through meaningful connections.

Sam Latif, Company Accessibility Leader, P&G

 

I am immensely proud of the progress the Valuable 500 has already made by convening 500 of the world’s biggest companies to commit to driving disability inclusion within their businesses. I am confident that this next step towards building the C-Suite of the future by bringing them into direct contact with key decision makers will expedite the necessary system change we want to see in business. Generation Valuable will enable the transformation to happen from within the businesses, serving as a platform to nurture the leaders of tomorrow by providing equitable investment of resources and leadership.

Caroline Casey, founder of the Valuable 500

 

 

Media contacts:

For interviews and further information, please contact:

Amy Shaw

Campaign Director, Seven Hills

Email: [email protected]

Richard Poston

Chief Communications Officer, the Valuable 500

Email:  [email protected]

 

Notes to Editors

About the Valuable 500 

The Valuable 500 was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January 2019. Today the Valuable 500 is the largest community of Global CEOs committed to disability inclusion in business.

Since its creation, the Valuable 500 has achieved its initial goal of getting 500 multinational organisations to make a public commitment to disability inclusion in their organisation, igniting a historic global movement for a new age of diversity in business. The Valuable 500 and their global impact partner The Nippon Foundation, will be working closely with the World Economic Forum and International Disability Alliance – bringing together a leading philanthropic organisation with the most prestigious global business network and the voice of the global disability community.

By engaging with the world’s most influential business leaders and brands, the network now has a market cap of over $23 trillion, combined revenues of over $8 trillion and employs a staggering 22 million people worldwide. Its members include 15 global CEOs and companies who will be spearheading the programmes and services to be offered under Phase 2 of the transformation programme.

The Valuable 500 is determined to create a community that supports and empowers its 500 members to systematically transform their businesses, so they include the 1.3 billion people living with disabilities worldwide, thereby unlocking their business, social and economic potential.

We believe that if business takes a lead, society and government will follow. Truly inclusive businesses can build truly inclusive societies.