Webinar: Business leadership in disability-inclusive responses to COVID-19

Leaders in private sector companies can play a decisive role in making sure that the immediate and socio-economic responses to the global COVID-19 crisis are inclusive of persons with disabilities and their needs. The ILO Global Business and Disability Network and The Valuable 500 teamed up to take a closer look.

Moderated by Caroline Casey (Founder, The Valuable 500), Paul Polman (Chair and Co-founder, IMAGINE) and Matthias Thorns (Deputy Secretary-General, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)) discussed what business leaders can and should do to make COVID-19 responses inclusive of persons with disabilities.

The panel discussion was followed by presentations by:

• Tomas Malango – Experimentation & Technology Support Director, Repsol
• Sarbani Chakravarty – Director, India Business and Disability Network (IBDN)
• Elham Youssefian – Inclusive Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Advisor, International Disability Alliance (IDA)

The webinar ended with short interventions by:

• Yves Veulliet – Global Disability & Inclusion Leader, IBM
• Don Watson – Vice-President Global Workplace and Enterprise Services, Merck
• Manisha Mehta – Global Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Unilever
• Diane Lightfoot – CEO, Business Disability Forum (BDF) UK

International Sign interpretation and live captioning were provided.