Annual Employment Tracker Reveals an Increase in Hiring People with Disabilities, While Self-ID Rates Decrease
NEW YORK (December 8, 2021) – The National Organization on Disability (NOD) is encouraging all companies to look closer at the 80-percent of working age Americans with disabilities who are not employed and to make disability inclusion part of their overall business strategy in 2022. While recent reports and results from NOD’s annual Employment Tracker are trending positive with an increase in people with disabilities entering the workforce over the last 12 months, self-identification (self-ID) rates have decreased from 4.09 in 2020 to 3.68 in 2021.
The NOD Employment Tracker is the only free assessment tool available that focuses on the workforce, to help companies better gain a deeper understanding of how their key business practices correlate to improved talent outcomes related to hiring, retention and tenure. Companies can access the free NOD Disability Employment Tracker here.
“I am cautiously optimistic and encouraged by the latest reports that show the labor force participation rate for working-aged people with disabilities has increased by 11.3 percent over the past year,” said NOD President Carol Glazer. “This is tremendous progress for the disability community and for that we need to celebrate. However, we can’t stop here. There is more work to be done to ensure that all people with disabilities feel comfortable identifying with a disability, no matter their type of disability or the environment within which they work.”
In its ninth year – and with companies who together employ more than 10 million Americans already taking the annual survey – the NOD Employment Tracker assists companies to make disability inclusion part of their overall business strategy and to find the right talent while removing inclusion barriers for good. According to the 2021 Employment Tracker report, employers that track not only self-ID rates, but other talent outcome metrics, such as promotions of employees with disabilities, demonstrated self-identification rates three times higher than those that only examined self-ID.
The Tracker data also showed NOD’s Leadership Council members performed better and were more effective at implementing best practices, programs, and policies. Specifically, these members have 38% higher self ID rates and are better than non-members at adopting the most effective disability inclusion practices.
Glazer added, “I would encourage all employers to take advantage of our Employment Tracker to access how they benchmark against more than 200 participating companies and receive pertinent information to create a diverse and inclusive workforce.”
For 2022, NOD will continue to partner with Talmetrix, a national employee feedback, research and insights company. By using recent market research, the two organizations created a dynamic disability benchmarking tool that provides companies with the cutting-edge, outcome-based data metrics they need to build a more inclusive workforce, which is proven to enhance innovation and increase engagement with employees and customers.
Companies who complete the Tracker by March 11, 2022 will receive a free Scorecard report, benchmarking their performance against all other participants in key workforce inclusion areas: (Strategy, Talent Outcome Metrics, Climate & Culture, Talent Sourcing, People Practices, Workplace Tools & Accessibility, and Veterans (optional). The 2022 Scorecard reports will be available for participating companies in early summer 2022. In addition to receiving this powerful benchmarking tool, top performing companies are eligible to compete for NOD’s annual Leading Disability Employer Seal. A list of the 2021 Leading Disability Employers can be found here.
ABOUT NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ON DISABILITY
The National Organization on Disability (NOD) is a private, non-profit organization that seeks to increase employment opportunities for the 80-percent of working age Americans with disabilities who are not employed. To achieve this goal, NOD offers a suite of employment solutions, tailored to meet leading companies’ workforce needs. NOD has helped some of the world’s most recognized brands be more competitive in today’s global economy by building or enriching their disability inclusion programs. For more information about NOD and how its professional services, Leadership Council and Employment Tracker™ can help your business, visit www.NOD.org.
