Opening Your Doors to Workers with Disabilities: NDEAM

This year’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is marked under the theme of “Disability: Part of the Equity Equation.”

Every year in October NDEAM is observed in honor of America’s workers with disabilities and their contributions to the market forces.

U.S. President Joe Biden stated: “we celebrate the essential contributions to our workplaces, economy, and Nation made by disabled Americans and recommit to promoting equal opportunity for all people.

“In 1945, President Truman established National Disability Employment Awareness Month and issued the first national call for disabled people to access all the opportunities and rewards of work.  Forty-five years later, in 1990, the Congress came together to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which helps to ensure our workforce is more productive, prosperous, and inclusive by banning disability discrimination, including in the workplace.  Courageous activists of all backgrounds had fought for decades to lay the groundwork and change public consciousness, and I was proud to cosponsor this groundbreaking civil rights law.  Since then, the ADA has not only transformed lives, but it has also inspired over 180 other countries to pass similar laws and brought us closer to realizing the full promise of our Nation.”

Biden also stressed that “studies have found that Americans with disabilities are especially productive and motivated workers—but they still have a harder time getting jobs, promotions, and fair pay.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, companies leading the way in employment inclusion opportunities for people with disabilities had an average of 28 percent higher revenue, a twofold net income, and 30 percent higher economic profit margins over a four-year period.

The DoJ encourages organizations in all industries to participate in NDEAM and offers multiple resources for assistance.

EqualWeb does not directly assist organizations in hiring individuals with disabilities. Still, by making your website accessible and inclusive it may cater to those with impairments who are looking for career opportunities and open your doors to new, enthusiastic, and able workers.

By making your website accessible with EqualWeb’s accessibility enhancement tools you get to comply with ADA standards and make your website inclusive to those with disabilities, increasing opportunities for all individuals in society—including job opportunities.

Learn how to make your website accessible and ADA-compliant, here.