Publications

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The collaboration between the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the ILO GBDN spans over a decade and continues to grow stronger.

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.

This easy-to-read version of the 2021 publication “An inclusive digital economy for people with disabilities” takes a closer look at the digital transformation of the world of work and how it affects opportunities and challenges for the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

This easy-to-read version of the 2019 publication “Making the future of work inclusive of people with disabilities” shows how to ensure that the future of work is inclusive, leaving no one behind, including the one billion persons with disabilities living on our planet.

Digital accessibility, not as a compliance measure, but as a “human-first” based digital inclusion transformation initiative, is at the beginning of its journey. If companies can establish digital accessibility as a foundational pillar to their overall digital transformation strategy and engage employees with disabilities at the product and service and workplace design phase, then we can begin to move digital impact measurement of digital accessibility away from compliance and over to innovation and business differentiation.