Disability inclusion at Deloitte
Deloitte is focused on providing workplace environments in which our people can thrive.
Deloitte’s global approach to disability inclusion is built upon the ‘social model’ in that people are disabled only by the social and physical environment around them. We are thus focused on providing tools and resources to help enable all our people to reach their full career potential.
Disability inclusion at Deloitte
At Deloitte, disability inclusion means providing the right tools and resources for colleagues with disabilities. It also means educating our people on disability inclusion and providing helpful resources, such as guidance on returning to work after someone experiencing a chronic health condition has had a period of absence.
Disability inclusion is a key pillar of Deloitte’s global inclusion strategy which focuses on delivering practical and user-friendly tools and resources each Deloitte firm can utilize from recruitment to development and retention. This strategy is complemented by Deloitte’s global focus on fostering an inclusive workplace culture underpinned by respect. This focus includes Deloitte Global’s award-winning Can you see me? educational films, which feature stories of individuals from under-represented groups, such as Thiago, a wheelchair user.
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January 2019, Deloitte Global became a signatory to the Valuable 500, signaling our global commitment and leadership focus when it comes to disability inclusion.
Deloitte has proudly signed the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s Global Business and Disability Network Charter, underlining its focus on disability inclusion and neurodiversity. The Charter comprises a commitment to deliver against 10 principles when it comes to disability inclusion and neurodiversity, with each of these principles aligned to Deloitte’s global strategies for these important inclusion priorities.
Deloitte’s global focus on fostering inclusive workplaces for colleagues with disabilities has been recognized by third-party organizations around the world, including Deloitte US achieving a perfect score in the Disability Equality Index’s best places to work ranking for the last five years. Deloitte UK is part of the UK Government’s Disability Confident employer scheme, focused on best practices around the recruitment, retention and development of people with disabilities.
Thiago
"...a lot of the time, I think I must be invisible. And when people do see me, all they see is the chair." Take a moment to see Thiago.
Here are some ways we are taking action
In addition to the global strategy, Deloitte firms have launched a number of awareness-building, coaching and education programs to help enable people at Deloitte with disabilities to reach their full career potential, as well as to support skills development and career progression in society at large.
This includes initiatives focused on accessibility in the physical work environment, such as the Deloitte US human-centered design (HCD) initiative that seeks to better understand the experiences of people with disabilities, identify ways to improve accessibility, and create a more inclusive culture.
Deloitte Canada launched its first AccessAbility Action Plan in 2021 to reinforce its commitment to the inclusion of people with disabilities as well as those with different accessibility needs, followed by a progress update in 2022. Deloitte Japan has published demographic data on its people with disabilities as part of the firm’s drive to increase representation, accessibility and awareness of talent with disabilities.
Several Deloitte firms have employee resource groups dedicated to disability inclusion to help foster community and allyship, including raising awareness across their respective firms.
Deloitte's support of the Paralympic movement
In April 2022, Deloitte and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a decade-long, five-Games “partnership with purpose” through 2032 which will see Deloitte serve as a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner. This partnership leverages Deloitte’s considerable business acumen to help the Paralympic games realize the possibilities of its strategic plan for the future, transforming attitudes towards persons with disabilities and driving social inclusion. Learn more about the partnership here.
Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said: “The Paralympic Games are the biggest showcase of persons with disabilities on the world stage. Having worked with Deloitte for several years now, the IPC is enthusiastic to explore with Deloitte how its expertise and wide range of services can benefit the wider Paralympic Movement. Together we can use Para sport as a tool to empower people, change attitudes towards disability and create greater opportunities for the world’s 1.2 billion persons with disabilities.”
While the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)’s definition of persons with disabilities includes neurodiverse variations such as autism, dyslexia and ADHD, feedback from neurodiverse colleagues tells us that they often do not self-identify as disabled. As such, Deloitte’s global ALL IN diversity, equity and inclusion strategy differentiates between disability inclusion and neurodiversity.
