High profile global business leaders and companies have today committed to take accountability for disability inclusion in business, by supporting #valuable – a worldwide call to action for business to recognise the value and worth of the one billion disabled people globally.
Founder of #valuable, Caroline Casey, commented: “Disability inclusion is an issue that has been pushed to the sidelines of business for far too long. Momentum is now building and we have reached a tipping point. We’re delighted that the World Economic Forum have announced that the need to bolster inclusion of those living with a disability will be a main message at Davos in 2019.”
To drive forward this change, the following global business leaders have committed to be accountable for disability within their businesses and across their full supply chain. They are the first to support the #valuable campaign, helping to put disability inclusion on the international business agenda, and keep it there:
- Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
- Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
- Janet Riccio, EVP of Omnicom Group and Dean of Omnicom University
Virgin Media and Omnicom have become strategic partners of #valuable, representing a major milestone for the campaign which continues to be at the forefront of the global conversation around disability inclusion:
- Virgin Media is becoming a leading business voice on disability in the UK. The company has joined forces with the disability equality charity, Scope, to support a million disabled people to get and stay in work by the end of 2020. The business is also transforming its workplaces, practices and policies for disabled employees and customers. As a key partner of the #valuable movement, Virgin Media will encourage UK business leaders to join its campaign to create workplaces where disabled people can thrive.
- Omnicom will take the lead in spreading the message of disability inclusion in business and igniting a global conversation about a world where everyone is valued equally. Omnicom has long supported its employees by creating a diverse and inclusive environment that nurtures their creative energy. That means diversity in backgrounds, race, gender, age and experience, as well as embracing those with disabilities.
- #valuable is also proud to announce that it has joined forces with the World Economic Forum, which announced last week that disability inclusion will form part of its Annual Meeting agenda for the first-time next month. As part of its focus on bolstering inclusion for the one billion people in the world living with a disability, the World Economic Forum will announce its official support of #valuable.
Among other highlights of the Forum’s disability inclusion agenda, Caroline Casey and Paul Polman will co-host a press conference on The Accessibility Revolution and talk about the ambitions of the #valuable campaign on Thursday 24 January 2019.
#valuable is delighted to announce that it has teamed up with a range of experts who will lend their skills and experience to #valuable’s mission to activate the business community to tackle disability exclusion around the world. They already include the ILO GBDN, The Marketing Society, Business Disability Forum, EY and Ruh Global.
Launched in 2017, #valuable is a catalyst for an inclusion revolution that exists to position disability equally on the global business leadership agenda. It is spearheaded by award-winning activist, social entrepreneur and Binc founder Caroline Casey, who is registered blind.
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