Disability Friendly

Foreword

People with disabilities make up an estimated 1 billion, or 15%, of the world's population. About 80% are of working age. The right of people with disabilities to fully participate in society, live as full citizens, as productive employees is often hampered by discriminatory practices and negative stigmas. There's not one aspect of life where people with disabilities should not expect to participate in every way.

From my global vantage point, I know this “exclusion” remains the costly mistake of today. Representation on all levels remains scarce but we are at a global tipping point in which our stark absence within positions of leadership is no longer being overlooked. I am an award‐winning social entrepreneur, dangerous dreamer, and founder of the Valuable 500—a global business collective made up of 500 CEOs and their companies, innovating together for Disability Inclusion.

Over the past two decades, I have set up several organizations and initiatives centered on disability business inclusion. I was recently appointed president of the IAPB, and I sit on several diversity and inclusion boards including L'Oréal and Sky. John Kemp and I have been friends and colleagues for more than 20 years, and this book provides a wonderful insight into how institutions can embed Disability Inclusion practices into their fabric to ensure that people can unapologetically show up to their place of work, education, or retail outlets as their whole selves without fears of it being inaccessible. ...