TY - JOUR
T1 - Fortune 500 companies and employment of people with disabilities
T2 - The intermediary role of disability inclusion policies and practices
AU - Iwanaga, Kanako
AU - Chan, Fong
AU - Bezyak, Jill
AU - Wu, Jia Rung
AU - Lee, Deborah
AU - Rumrill, Phillip
AU - West, Amanda Elizabeth
AU - Zapata, Patricia
AU - Ho, Hanson
AU - Tansey, Timothy N.
AU - Wehman, Paul
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 - IOS Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024/7/9
Y1 - 2024/7/9
N2 - BACKGROUND: Employing qualified individuals with disabilities can improve organizational competitiveness and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. However, research on disability inclusion policy and practices among employers committed to hiring people with disabilities is limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate efforts of Fortune 500 companies to include disability in their DEI policy and examine the effect of disability inclusion policy and practices on employment of people with disabilities METHODS: Four hundred sixty-six human resource and project managers with hiring authority participated in the present study. The Disability Inclusion Profiler-23 (DIP-23) was used to assess the perceived importance and implementation level of disability inclusion policy and practices in Fortune 500 and non-Fortune 500 companies. Two-sample independent t-tests were used to compare disability-employment rates and disability inclusion scores between Fortune 500 and non-Fortune 500 groups. Parallel mediation analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which executive level and mid-manager level DIP scores mediated the relationship between Fortune 500 companies and disability employment rates. RESULTS: Fortune 500 companies demonstrated higher disability employment rates and better disability inclusion policies and practices compared to non-Fortune 500 companies. CONCLUSION: State vocational rehabilitation agencies and other disability service providers should engage Fortune 500 executives to bolster disability inclusion efforts. Collaboration between vocational rehabilitation professionals and mid-level managers can enhance DIP policy implementation, thereby improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
AB - BACKGROUND: Employing qualified individuals with disabilities can improve organizational competitiveness and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. However, research on disability inclusion policy and practices among employers committed to hiring people with disabilities is limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate efforts of Fortune 500 companies to include disability in their DEI policy and examine the effect of disability inclusion policy and practices on employment of people with disabilities METHODS: Four hundred sixty-six human resource and project managers with hiring authority participated in the present study. The Disability Inclusion Profiler-23 (DIP-23) was used to assess the perceived importance and implementation level of disability inclusion policy and practices in Fortune 500 and non-Fortune 500 companies. Two-sample independent t-tests were used to compare disability-employment rates and disability inclusion scores between Fortune 500 and non-Fortune 500 groups. Parallel mediation analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which executive level and mid-manager level DIP scores mediated the relationship between Fortune 500 companies and disability employment rates. RESULTS: Fortune 500 companies demonstrated higher disability employment rates and better disability inclusion policies and practices compared to non-Fortune 500 companies. CONCLUSION: State vocational rehabilitation agencies and other disability service providers should engage Fortune 500 executives to bolster disability inclusion efforts. Collaboration between vocational rehabilitation professionals and mid-level managers can enhance DIP policy implementation, thereby improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
KW - Disability inclusion policy
KW - Fortune 500 companies
KW - disability employment
KW - parallel mediation analysis
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U2 - 10.3233/JVR-240026
DO - 10.3233/JVR-240026
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85198848425
SN - 1052-2263
VL - 61
SP - 17
EP - 24
JO - Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation
JF - Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation
IS - 1
ER -