Leaders are the key decision-makers within business, and not enough diversity at this level creates a situation where people with disabilities are not properly included or represented whether that be in product and service design, advertising and marketing, or business employment strategies.
When leaders communicate that disability inclusion is meaningful to the business, it is a catalyst for involvement, creativity, and action across the entire organisation.
By ensuring disability inclusion is on board agendas and by providing tangible leadership solutions business can achieve inclusion for all.
The System Barrier
Not enough leaders are putting disability inclusion on the business agenda or sharing their lived experiences of disability. This perpetuates the idea that disability is a taboo and unimportant.
In collaborated with EY to survey business leaders at the C-Suite level from a range of industries and across 17 countries worldwide. We explored board level attitudes to disability inclusion in business. The results highlighted that 56% of global senior executives rarely or never discuss disability on their leadership agendas.
The Opportunity
For too long there has been silence at C-Suite level on the topic of disability. With the power of the 500 partners and companies, we now have the opportunity to break this silence and transform the narrative from the top – to inspire others to embrace their lived experience and ensure that disability inclusion is at the forefront of the business agenda.
There is also a huge opportunity to support disabled talent in becoming the leaders of tomorrow, creating diversity and inclusion in the boardroom.
Synchronised Collective Action
We’ve created Generation Valuable, a groundbreaking global mentoring programme uniquely designed to elevate rising disabled talent into executive roles.
The 6-month programme pairs executives with aspiring disabled talents to cultivate the next generation of business leaders. Through reciprocal mentoring, the program builds inclusive leadership skills in both existing and future decision makers.
What Success Looks Like
Having all Valuable 500 companies and partners actively participating in the program.
By empowering underrepresented voices and instilling disability inclusion as a cornerstone of their organisation’s leadership vision, each participant in Generation Valuable is shaping the future of inclusive leadership.
