This brief is based on the article “Your Workforce Includes People with Disabilities. Does Your People Strategy?”
Most CEOs want all people in their company to feel valued and supported. Yet many are failing to create that inclusive environment for employees with disabilities.
Lack of awareness is one culprit. Many companies simply don’t realize just how many people with disabilities (PwD) they employ.
In a recent BCG survey of roughly 28,000 employees across 16 countries, nearly a quarter said they have a disability or health condition that limits a major life activity. Yet most companies report that employees with disabilities comprise only 4%–7% of their
Of workers with disabilities surveyed by BCG who said that they have not yet disclosed their disability to their employer, half cited fears of discrimination and bias.
According to BCG’s BLISS index—which measures feelings of inclusion through a single, comprehensive score—individuals with disabilities experience lower levels of inclusion in the workplace compared to their peers without
Beyond morale, lower inclusion rates drive higher risk of attrition. That can negatively impact an organization’s bottom line, including through lost productivity, skills, and institutional knowledge of PwD who
Fortunately, CEOs can make three strategic moves to create a more inclusive environment.
First, they can invest in employee-centric policies and programs. More than 80% of people with disabilities who work for companies that invest heavily in such measures disclose their disability or health condition to their employer, compared with 67% in companies with low investment levels.
Establish mentorship programs. These can launch employees with disabilities on a career path and can improve feelings of inclusion, boost happiness, and significantly lower the risk that they’ll quit.
Grant requests for reasonable accommodations. These include requests for equipment, software, flexible work arrangements, or adjustments to a physical environment. Such accommodations can nearly level the BLISS score between people with disabilities and those without.
People with disabilities are a significant share of the workforce. By building a culture where employees feel welcomed and supported in sharing their lived experience with disability, CEOs can ensure that when it comes to inclusion, they are delivering on their values.
Employers underestimate how many PwD work for them, so they are missing opportunities to improve inclusion and retention. Here’s how they can do better.
Explore the article that informed this brief
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Miguel Carrasco
Managing Director & Senior Partner, Global Leader, Center for Digital Government, BCG X in Public Sector
Brad Loftus is the North America lead for the Retail sector at Boston Consulting Group . He leads the Consumer practice in the Americas, as well as BCG's global work in specialty retail, and is a member of the firm's global retail leadership team. For six years, he served as worldwide topic leader for e-commerce and omnichannel retail.
Miguel Carrasco
Managing Director & Senior Partner, Global Leader, Center for Digital Government, BCG X in Public Sector
Miguel Carrasco is the Global Leader for the Center for Digital Government at Boston Consulting Group and BCG X for the public sector. Miguel has deep expertise in a wide range of topics, including artificial intelligence, digital strategy and transformation, digital innovation and service delivery, citizen-centric government, digital identity and trust, legacy systems modernization, IT strategy, tech program de-risking and recovery, the future of work, and the digital economy.
Ruth Ebeling is an expert in the fields of people strategy and talent, and a member of Boston Consulting Group’s People & Organization practice. She leads the firm’s work in human resources and technology people strategy for North America, and is a member of the global People Strategy Leadership Team. She has worked with clients in a wide variety of industries. Ruth is a global expert on people strategy and talent transformation in the technology function. In her work at BCG she emphasizes solving the talent challenges faced by technology leaders and digital and technology functions, often in a context of large-scale transformations, post-merger integrations, operating model shifts, and technology strategy implementations. Ruth is skilled in the topics of human resources and talent, including people analytics, employee journeys, Next-Gen HR models, leadership and talent, culture and behavior, engagement, strategic organization design, support function operating models, and large-scale change. She helped found BCG's Leadership & Talent Enablement Center, and her work in talent assessments pioneered some of BCG's early approaches to strategic talent gap analysis and development. Prior to joining BCG Ruth worked at Goldman Sachs.
Ashley worked at BCG for four years as a Consultant in the New York office after graduating from Harvard Business School and Bryn Mawr College. She then worked in media in a variety of positions before rejoining the BCG Recruiting Team at the end of 2017. For more information please contact Ashley.
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