New York, NY, Jan. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Disability Inclusion Blueprint, a powerful tool from the National Organization on Disability designed to help organizations enhance inclusion across the employee lifecycle, is now open for participation.
Formerly known as the Employment Tracker™, the Disability Inclusion Blueprint is an innovative redesign of NOD’s groundbreaking corporate inclusion assessment, enabling organizations to build inclusive workplaces that actively promote equity and belonging for all employees.
Companies fill out a mobile-responsive survey measuring their strategy, talent outcome metrics, climate and culture, talent sourcing, people practices, and workplace tools and accessibility. Following, a comprehensive, tailored report is generated, allowing for a proactive integration of practices, policies, and support systems to create an accessible, equitable, and supportive workplace.
“With nearly one-third of the workforce managing an apparent or nonapparent disability, and the unemployment rate for people with disabilities remaining over twice that of our non-disabled peers, building an inclusive workplace is not a ‘nice to have.’ Business success demands disability inclusion. The Disability Inclusion Blueprint is designed to empower organizations to address these disparities,” said Beth Sirull, President and CEO, the National Organization on Disability.
In conjunction with the product rebrand, NOD previously announced a formal research and development partnership with Valuable 500 – a global organization working with business to put disability inclusion on the corporate leadership agenda.
Leveraging NOD’s research expertise with Valuable 500’s global reach, this partnership will yield innovative insights and promote the adoption of effective disability inclusion strategies worldwide. Together, Valuable 500 and NOD aim to empower businesses to create workplaces that welcome and leverage the talents and strengths of the estimated 1.3 billion people with disabilities worldwide.
Participation in Disability Inclusion Blueprint is free, and companies can sign up online now. Submissions must be received by March 31, 2025 at 11:59 PM PST to qualify for NOD’s Leading Disability Employer Seal, Fair360’s Top 50 Companies for Inclusive Workplaces, and to receive a Blueprint by July 15, 2025.
The survey will remain open until fall 2025 for organizations not interested in benchmarking their performance against all other companies.
For more information about the Disability Inclusion Blueprint and how to participate, visit www.nod.org/blueprint.
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About the National Organization on Disability (NOD)
The National Organization on Disability (NOD) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase employment opportunities for the 26% of Americans with disabilities. NOD offers a suite of employment solutions, tailored to anticipate, and meet companies’ workforce needs. NOD has helped the world’s most recognized brands be more competitive in today’s global economy by building or enriching their disability inclusion programs. For more information about NOD and its portfolio of workforce solutions, including the Leadership Council, Disability Inclusion Blueprint, and Employee Engagement Survey, visit www.nod.org.
About Valuable 500
Valuable 500 is the global organisation of over 500 partners and companies working together to end disability exclusion. Unified in our purpose to accelerate inclusion for the one in five people living with a disability, we transform business systems to transform society.
By engaging with the world’s most influential business leaders and brands, the Valuable 500 now has a market cap of over $23 trillion, combined revenues of over $8 trillion and employs a staggering 22 million people worldwide.
We drive change through Synchronised Collective Action. Channelling the power of over 500 partners and companies working in harmony – moving in the same direction, at the same time, against the same system barrier.
We hold our partners and companies to account in taking action in three key areas:
• Leadership, putting disability inclusion on the leadership agenda
• Reporting, tackling the disability data gap to create business accountability
• Representation, ensuring that people with disability are represented authentically and participate at every stage of the process.
Valuable 500 is working towards SYNC25, the world’s first Accountability Summit on disability inclusion. The summit will mark the start of a decade of accountability for our partners and companies, bringing together Valuable 500 CEOs, C-suite leaders, next-generation leaders, and representatives from the global disability community to review progress, set agendas, and accelerate inclusion for the 1 in 5 people living with a disability worldwide.
Valuable 500 won't stop until everyone is seen and valued equally. With the support of iconic partners, we are accelerating change and creating a new standard of inclusion in business.
Bridget Smith National Organization on Disability smithb@nod.org
