Rationale
Factoids and Statistics Driving Our Work
People with disabilities represent an untapped and under-utilized human capital talent pipeline that has shown to have an 85 percent retention rate, thereby reducing an organization’s high turnover cost.
Organizations that do not have mature disability-inclusive diversity employment strategies and pipelines are already behind in the race for talent.
Beyond hiring and accommodations, smart companies value a disability-inclusive strategic approach to create accessible and usable products and services, maximize Universal Design principles, and advance professionals with disabilities.
Economic power of 22.6 million working-age adults with disabilities in the U.S. (1 ,2) and 1 billion individuals with disabilities worldwide.
The American Institute of Research (AIR)’s April 2018 Report, A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults With Disabilities, highlighted the power of a U.S. market where total after-tax disposable income for working-age people with disabilities is about $490 billion, which is similar to that of other significant market segments, such as African Americans ($501 billion) and Hispanics ($582 billion), and higher than the coveted teen market.(3)
Discretionary income of working-age people with disabilities is $21 billion; that’s more than non-disabled African-American and Hispanic markets combined.
Customers with disabilities are surrounded by brand-loyal family, friends and colleagues who recognize value in products and services accommodating all people that amp up purchasing power to $3 trillion.
1: Unger, D., Employers’ Attitudes Toward Persons with Disabilities in the Workforce: Myths or Realities?, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1, Spring 2002. (Accessed 10/12/18). http://trans2work.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/proed_employersattitudes.pdf/
2: Stevens AC, Carroll DD, Courtney-Long EA, et al. Adults with One or More Functional Disabilities — United States, 2011–2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:1021–1025. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6538a1
3: Overton, C., Shaewitz, D., Smith, D-M.,Yin, M., American Institute For Research (AIR), A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults With Disabilities, April 2018, https://www.air.org/system/files/downloads/report/Hidden-Market-Spending-Power-of-People-with-Disabilities-April-2018.pdf