ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disability:IN, the global organization driving disability inclusion and equality in business, today announced the winners of its 2024 Inclusion Awards. The annual accolade recognizes outstanding disability inclusion efforts by visionary brands and individuals from among Disability:IN’s more than 500 corporate partners.
“Each year we are fortunate to see exemplary disability inclusion efforts from so many worthy companies and individuals. The volume reaffirms that this work continues to become a business imperative for companies around the globe,” said Jill Houghton, president and CEO of Disability:IN. “Our 2024 Inclusion Awards recipients represent the companies that have demonstrated noteworthy efforts in disability inclusion and accessibility. On behalf of everyone at Disability:IN, we applaud you.”
For 2024, Disability:IN named Wells Fargo the winner of its Inclusive Business of the Year award, which recognizes a company for exemplary implementation of policies, strategies and initiatives that have resulted in measurable impact in the areas of disability inclusiveness in the workplace, marketplace, accessibility, and supply chain both inside the U.S. and internationally. The company displays a commitment to the comprehensive inclusion of people with disabilities both internally and externally, recognizing the value of expertise from employees and customers with disabilities in developing a more inclusive workplace and business.
“Thank you, Disability:IN, for your work toward making a more inclusive global economy, and for recognizing our commitment to our employees, communities and customers with disabilities,” said Kristy Fercho, Head of Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion at Wells Fargo.
The additional 2024 Inclusion Awards winners are:
Autism Inclusion Company of the Year: DXC Technology
New in 2024, the Autism Inclusion Company of the Year recognizes innovative policies, strategies and initiatives that drive measurable results in hiring, retaining, and advancing autistic colleagues in the U.S. and around the globe. This year’s winner, DXC Technology, is recognized for its work to enable sustainable, long-term careers in information and communications technology for neurodivergent people. For example, DXC’s Dandelion Program helps neurodivergent people build necessary technical and life skills by developing their self-determination and self-advocacy; understanding of their sensory profile; understanding of their working and processing style; and building on their abilities, strengths and setting goals.
Accessibility Impact Award: Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble (P&G) has been named this year’s Accessibility Impact Award winner for its dedication to continuously refining accessibility accommodation practices. P&G works to ensure a consistent process that meets the needs of disabled job applicants requesting an accommodation. P&G also offers current employees a comprehensive accommodation request process, including for off-site company meetings/activities, virtual meetings, and company-supported, industry-relevant meetings and events. For customers, P&G is working to embed accessibility into creative strategies and content, including the use of audio description tracks to enable visually impaired consumers to understand by listening as well as captioning for people with hearing impairments.
Global ERG Impact Award: BNY
BNY’s HEART is this year’s recipient of the Global ERG Impact Award for its tireless work to raise awareness and leverage the talents of employees with disabilities at the company. Across five regions and 37 chapters the team reinforces an inclusive and accessible environment through storytelling, education and collaboration internally; industry collaborations, relationships and commitments; client collaborations and disability hiring.
ERG/BRG Executive Sponsor of the Year: Elizabeth Joyce
Elizabeth Joyce of State Street has been named ERG / BRG Executive Sponsor of the year for her longstanding commitment to furthering disability inclusion. Notably, she recently commissioned a new program at State Street to establish a dedicated talent pipeline targeting individuals within the neurodiverse community. Rolled out for the firm’s Cyber Security organization, this program will help shape and define how the company recognizes the contributions of the neurodiverse community.
Inclusive Marketing Campaign of the Year: Amazon Devices and Services
This year, Amazon Devices and Services received the Inclusive Marketing Campaign of the Year award for the launch of a new solution, developed in partnership with Cochlear™, a global manufacturer of widely used hearing implants, that allows Cochlear implant users to more comfortably enjoy movies and TV episodes available from Netflix, Prime Video, and other streaming services, as well as local TV networks. This innovation marks the first time that a smart TV device streams sound directly to a hearing implant sound processor.
Mary Brougher Supplier Diversity Advocate of the Year Award: Nedra Dickson
The Mary Brougher Supplier Diversity Advocate of the Year Award commemorates the late disability rights leader and advocate for the employment of youth and adults with disabilities. This year’s recipient is Nedra Dickson of Accenture, who has worked tirelessly as the leader for Accenture’s well-established efforts to diversify the company’s suppliers and subcontractors across 16 countries, growing the firm’s Supplier Diversity spend to over 30% in the US and opening so many doors for Disability:IN certified Disability-Owned Businesses (DOBEs®) to contracts with Accenture and beyond.
NextGen Alumni Achievement Award: Sena Pottackal
Sena Pottackal of Current Global has been named the 2024 NextGen Leader Alum of the Year for her contributions to her workplace and community and her ongoing support of students and recent graduates with disabilities. Since Sena’s graduation from the NextGen program, she has remained engaged as a corporate partner, serving as Current Global’s delegate for Disability:IN’s CMO & CCO Coalition, and is also currently a member of the inaugural Early Career Talent Accelerator. Sena consistently works to advance disability inclusion in all that she does and serves as a strong role-model for professionals with disabilities.
Top Corporation for Inclusive Procurement: Google
Google has been named the 2024 Top Corporation for Inclusive Procurement for its outstanding inclusion of Disability:IN certified Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs) and a general commitment to disability owned business inclusion within their supply chain.
John D. Kemp CEO Award: Michael Wirth, Chevron
The John D. Kemp CEO award recognizes a CEO who has championed disability inclusion and accessibility within their company and whose leadership has resulted in measurable outcomes that have significantly improved disability inclusion across the enterprise. The 2024 recipient is Michael Wirth of Chevron, under whose leadership the company has achieved so much for the disability community and this year will launch a pilot for centralized accommodations.
DOBE of the Year: Synterex, Inc.
The DOBE of the Year Award recognizes a Disability:IN certified Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE) with a proven track record of success utilizing the certification to grow their business while accelerating economic opportunity for the disability community. This year’s winner, Synterex, Inc., is a woman-owned, disability-owned clinical and regulatory consulting firm specializing in agile methodology, automation, and artificial intelligence-driven technologies that help deliver important new therapies to patients in an expedient manner. Synterex is recognized with this award for its exceptional contributions to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries while remaining firmly dedicated to sustainability and disability inclusion.
About Disability:IN
Disability:IN is a global organization driving disability inclusion and equality in business. More than 500 corporations partner with Disability:IN to create long-term business and social impact through the world’s most comprehensive disability inclusion benchmarking and reporting tool, the Disability Equality Index; best-in-class conferences and programs; expert counsel and engagement; and public policy leadership. Disability:IN’s Supplier Diversity Program is the nation’s recognized third-party certification program for disability-owned businesses, including businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. To learn more, visit http://disabilityin.org
