Jill Houghton, CEO of the global nonprofit Disability In, addresses the obstacles people with disabilities face in her interview with Insider Magazine. She points out that disabilities are left out of the conversation too often because there is discomfort around it. In the United States people living with disabilities have been marginalized. For example, in 2020 only 18% of Americans with disabilities were employed, and it is not because they aren’t qualified for the jobs. There is a significant hiring bias that underpins these statistics. In 2015, Rutgers and Syracuse’s universities found that employers were 26% less likely to respond to a qualified candidate who disclosed their disability in their cover letter. In 2019, GLAAD research found that people with disabilities were underrepresented in the media.
Houghton brings these details to light and partners with Fortune 500 companies to improve their policies and business practices regarding people with disabilities. She has worked with dozens of CEOs to create more inclusive policies that create opportunities for people with disabilities to have viable careers. Disability:In’s consulting branch Inclusion Works, has helped 80 companies hire more than 140,000 people with disabilities and partners on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Some of these programs include Dell Technologies’ Autism-at-Work hiring blueprint and Google’s self-ID initiative which led to a sharp increase in the number of employees who disclosed their disabilities. They are also working on another joint project with Accenture found that companies that championed disability inclusion had higher revenues, net income, and profit margins.
- The Equity Talk: People with disabilities get hired less, make less money, and are often excluded from media. Here’s how one woman is leading the charge to fix that. (Insider) – When Jill Houghton talks about people with disabilities, her eyes light up, her voice projects, and she flashes a smile that illustrates an appreciation for the work she does as the CEO of the global nonprofit Disability In.
- Disability is the missing piece in the DEI Puzzle (Fast Company) – Disability:IN is helping companies hire more people with disabilities while expanding the global conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Accessible Technology Procurement Toolkit (Disability:IN) – A commitment to diversity and inclusion requires that digital tools, including software applications and other technologies, are accessible to and usable by employees and applicants with disabilities.
