THE DISABILITY INCLUSION ADVANTAGE A research report produced jointly by GETTING TO EQUAL:Getting to Equal 2018: The Disability Inclusion Advantage 2 “Persons with disabilities present business and industry with unique opportunities in labor-force diversity and corporate culture, and theyre a large consumer market eager to know which businesses authentically support their goals and dreams. Leading companies are accelerating disability inclusion as the next frontier of corporate social responsibility and mission-driven investing. ” Ted Kennedy, Jr.,Disabilitie s Rights A ttorne y ,Connecticut State Senator and Board Chair, American Association of People with Disabilities3 Getting to Equal 2018: The Disability Inclusion Advantage What if you found out that your company is significantly underutilizing a critical talent pool? At a time when there are more job openings in the U.S. than workers, youd want to know more, wouldnt you? And, what if, by recognizing the value of that talent pool and leveraging it, your company could also realize significant gains in profitability, value creation and shareholder returnsas well as other business benefits? New research from Accenture, in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), reveals that companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting more persons with disabilities in their workforce have outperformed their peers. In large part, companies havent leveraged the talents of persons with disabilities for three reasons: A lack of understanding of the scope of the talent available; A lack of understanding of the potential benefits; and Misconceptions about the cost versus the ROI of disability inclusion. But leading companies that are working successfully toward disability inclusion have also achieved tangible financial benefits. For example, the research shows that leading companies were, on average, twice as likely to have higher total shareholder returns than those of their peer group. Introduction