Publications

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To better understand the work, success stories, challenges and support needs of National Business and Disability Networks (NBDNs) – with focus on the year 2023 – a bilingual (English and Spanish) survey by the ILO Global Business and Disability Network (GBDN) was sent to the coordinating entities of the 40 NBDNs that were members of the ILO GBDN at the end of December 2023. This analysis is based on the responses by 32 NBDNs that were received until mid-March 2024.

The Zero Project, an initiative by the Austrian non-profit Essl Foundation, works to create a world with zero barriers by finding and sharing solutions that improve the daily lives and legal rights of all persons with disabilities. The annual Zero Project Conference rotates through four themes: education, employment, accessibility, independent living and political participation, with information and communication technology (ICT) being addressed every year. The ILO GBDN partners with the Zero Project to encourage companies to nominate their good practices in the area of disability-inclusive employment at their global conferences.

Valuable 500 is a global non-profit organisation of over 500 multinational corporations working to end disability exclusion in the workplace, with more than 530 C-suite leaders publicly committing to put disability inclusion on their agendas. The ILO GBDN can help Valuable 500 partners and companies to deliver on these commitments, by providing technical support, peer-to-peer learning and business-relevant resources.

The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), established in 2000, is the world’s largest corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiative. Principle 6 of the UNGC’s Ten Principles states that “businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation”, which includes any type of disability-based discrimination. The collaboration between the ILO GBDN and UNGC spans over a decade, partnering together on webinars, publications and conferences.

This comprehensive compilation includes good corporate practices from 30 multinational enterprises, all members of the ILO Global Business and Disability Network, who share the goal of creating a work culture that is welcoming and inclusive of persons with disabilities. Each company presented here has shared their single best practice regarding disability inclusion, with the aim to inspire and encourage other companies to learn from these practices and to improve the inclusion of persons with disabilities in their specific corporate setting. This is even more important as more and more companies are starting their disability inclusion journey, while others are working to continue improving what already exists in their enterprises.

Persons with disabilities face unique challenges in the context of climate change – both in terms of how they are directly impacted as well as the obstacle faced in taking advantage of emerging labour market opportunities – and are often overlooked in the development and implementation of climate policies and adaptation efforts. To achieve a just transition, it is necessary that empowerment and training in emerging green job niches are inclusive to the needs of disadvantaged groups, that social dialogue with underrepresented groups is central in all policymaking processes, and that inclusion and accessibility are incorporated in the greening process and social protection systems.

Typically, like other societal actors, enterprises are on a learning journey regarding the way disability inclusion, including the employment of persons in their own workforces, can be made effective and sustainable. National Business and Disability Networks (NBDNs) can provide non-judgmental and encouraging employers-led platforms at country level.

A survey by the ILO Global Business and Disability Network aimed to explore how SMEs could be better supported in their efforts to become inclusive of persons with disabilities was sent to the 36 National Business and Disability Networks. This report presents the survey results, analyses them and provides key recommendations on how to enable SMEs to further promote the employment of persons with disabilities.

The ILO Global Business and Disability Network conducted a technical workshop for African National Business and Disability Networks as well as a regional conference for Africa in October 2022. The key insights and practices presented during these two ILO GBDN Africa events are consolidated in this report, thus aiming to provide an overview of key initiatives on disability inclusion in private sector companies in Africa.