Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage

GETTINGTOEQUAL:
THEDISABILITY
INCLUSION
ADVANTAGE
A research report produced jointly by

WHAT WE ASKED
In this study, conducted in partnership with Disability: IN and
the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD),
we set out to investigate:
Is there a positive correlation
between how inclusive a company is of
persons with disabilities and
its financial performance?
To find out, we took an in-depth look at companies participating
in the Disability Equality Index (DEI)* over the past four years.
*The Disability Equality Index is an annual transparent benchmarking tool conducted by Disability:IN and the American Association of
People with Disabilities (AAPD) that gives U.S. businesses an objective score on their disability inclusion policies and practices. 2

WHAT WE FOUND
Our research found that a correlation does exist and shows just how much
companies stand to gain if they welcome persons with disabilities — an
untapped talent pool of 10.7 million people.
Companies that embrace best practices for including persons with
disabilities performed better financially — outperforming other companies
in revenue, net income and economic profit margins.
“Leading companies are accelerating disability
inclusion as the next frontier of corporate social
responsibility and mission-driven investing.”
Ted Kennedy, Jr., Disabilities Rights Attorney,
Connecticut State Senator and Board Chair,
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
3

A VAST UNTAPPED
MARKET
Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved. 4

STATE OF DISABILITY HIRING
(29%) persons with
disabilities of
working age who
are employed **
(51%) persons with
disabilities of
working age.**
15.1M
persons with
disabilities in
the U.S.*
29.9M 4.4M
*16 and over; **Ages 16-64
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

MAJOR GAPS PERSIST
Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved. 6Source: Accenture Research analysis based on data from Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2018; see notes section for BLS definitions
Unemployment rates derived from 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics data
Despite a strong labor market,
just 29% of working-age
Americans with disabilities are
employed, vs. 75% of those
without a disability.
This means, there is an
untapped talent pool of 10.7
million people.

WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR THE
ECONOMY?
The GDP could get a
boost of up to
$25 billion
If just one percent of unemployed persons with disabilities
joined the U.S. labor force…
Source: Accenture Research analysis, derived by applying econometric models to public and proprietary data

IT PAYS TO BE
INCLUSIVE:
THE BUSINESS
CASE

DISABILITY INCLUSION
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.. 9
Companies that are inclusive of persons with disabilities
see rewards in their bottom line.
“Disability Inclusion Champions”* – companies on the
Disability Equality Index (DEI) that raise the bar for disability
employment and inclusion – have also seen greater financial
returns compared to other companies.
ON AVERAGE, DISABILITY INCLUSION
CHAMPIONS ACHIEVED…
*Disability Inclusion Champions represent 32 percent of the total four-year unique sample of 140 participating companies in the DEI.
See “Champions” definition in methodology section.

higher revenue
GREATER REVENUE
28%

DOUBLE THE NET INCOME
higher net income
2X

STRONGER PROFITS
better performance
on economic profit
margins
30%

LOOKING AHEAD

CHAMPIONS WERE….
Twice as likely to have total
shareholder returns that
outperform peers, based on
historical analysis.
*See “Peer Group” definition in notes section; all comparisons made over a 4-year period (2015-2018)

AND IMPROVERS WERE…
Four times more likely to
have total shareholder
returns that outperform
peers when compared to
non-improvers.
*See “Improvers” definition in notes section; all comparisons made over a 4-year period (2015-2018)

GETTING TO EQUAL

FOUR ACTIONS
1. EMPLOY: Organizations must ensure that persons with disabilities are represented in
their workplace. Beyond hiring, employers should implement practices that encourage
and progress persons with disabilities.
2. ENABLE: Leaders must provide employees with disabilities with accessible tools and
technology and/or a formal accommodations program.
3. ENGAGE: To foster an inclusive culture, organizations must generate awareness-
building — through recruitment efforts, disability education programs and grassroots-
led efforts (for example, an employee resource group).
4. EMPOWER: Organizations must create empowering environments for employees with
disabilities through mentoring and coaching initiatives, as well as through skilling/re-
skilling programs, to ensure that they continue to advance and thrive.
The study reveals four key actions for attracting, hiring, retaining and
advancing diverse talent:

SUMMARY
• It pays to be inclusive: Champions for disability inclusion not only excel in creating
cultures that help all workers advance and thrive, they also perform better financially.
• Major financial rewards up for grabs: On average, Champions achieved 28 percent
higher revenue, double the net income and 30 percent higher economic profit margins
over a four-year period as compared to other companies.
• The inclusion advantage is multi-pronged: Employees with disabilities offer substantial
business benefits, including increased innovation, improved productivity and a better
work environment.
• Secret to a healthier economy: If employers were to increase hiring of persons with
disabilities by just one percent, the GDP could get a boost of up to $25 billion dollars.
• Four key actions: The research reveals four key actions that organizations can take to
attract, hire, retain and advance diverse talent – employ, enable, engage, empower.

ABOUT THE
RESEARCH

This research is based on approximately 140 unique respondents of the Disability Equality Index (DEI) between 2015 and 2018. In partnership with Disability:IN
and the American Association of People with Disabilities, we analyzed two measures of financial performance: profitability (revenues and net income) and
value creation (economic profit margin). Our sample includes companies from all the major industries but is limited to the U.S. market.
We applied econometric models to public and proprietary data to identify:
1. The link between disability inclusion policies and business performance in terms of profitability, value creation and total shareholder return.
2. The relationship between disability workforce participation and GDP.
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) defines a person with a disability as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment. The ADA was amended in
2008 and became effective January 1, 2009. The ADAAA requires a broader interpretation of disability by schools, testing agencies and employers than the
original law. Please visit www.ada.gov and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ADAAA regulations for more information.
CHAMPIONS
Accenture Research assessed 140 leading disability-inclusive companies with select data from a four-year sample of the DEI. The assessment revealed key
differentiating factors, activities and best practices in 45 of the 140 companies (32 percent). All companies that participate in the DEI are already advancing
disability inclusion. However, the 45 “Disability Inclusion Champions” are those assessed as providing leading-edge disability programs and initiatives that can
be potentially implemented by others.
IMPROVERS
Since 2014, there has been an overall improvement in the DEI scores achieved by participating companies. To quantify the effort in improving the disability-
related policies, we introduce an “improvement score metric” calculated as the ratio between the annual score change and the maximum number of points they
could have gained to reach 100. We define top improvers as those companies that ranked in the top 25 percent of our own improvement score metric.
PEER GROUP
In our TSR models, we compared survey respondents to the top 10 company peers as recommended and reviewed by Vanguard. The peer group is defined by
S&P Capital IQ’s proprietary algorithm, which is based on five main components: (1) Revenue within similar ranges; (2) Industry (based on S&P Capital IQ
classification derived from SIC code); (3) Amount of common equity analysts’ coverage; (4) Available information on recent financial data; and (5) Company
location based on macro-regions (e.g. Europe) and country GDP.
METHODOLOGY

Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage

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Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage