Jill Houghton/Tony Coelho: State of Disability Employment

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guests, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Well, everyone, welcome to the show, and this is the beginning of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Which I have to tell you, I call National Disability Employment Month. Do you know why? Because we've had more than enough awareness. We're all aware, everyone's aware. Now we need to start hiring people. That's why I call it that. And I have to have a special shout out to Yoshiko. Yoshiko, thank you so much Joyce Bender for being a sponsor of the Bender Leadership Academy. You know I love you, and I have to— this time I am going to actually tell you the countries that are listening to the show around the world, and that would be Japan, the Netherlands, China, Italy, United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Egypt, Brazil, and Ireland. And may I say, Richard Roberts in Brazil, I so look forward to seeing you next year. Richard is a great friend of mine from the US State Department, and he is just the most wonderful person. And a special shout out to Gangneung Show in South Korea. And I would be very remiss if I did not mention that our lead sponsor, the sponsor of this show, is Highmark. And so, you know, you know how long this show has been on? Hard to believe, 21 years. Hard for me to believe, but it has been. And you know why it has been, right? Because of all of you. Because of the great listeners I have. And that includes, by the way, all of you around the world. You know those two people from Egypt? Well, it only takes two people to make a difference. It only takes one person, one person to make a difference. And actually, that example is on our show today. And that would be The Honorable Tony Coelho and Jill Houghton, CEO of Disability:IN. Welcome to the show.

Thank you, Joyce Bender. Great to be on, and particularly with Jill Houghton.

I know.

Well, it's amazing to be with both of you, and thank you for the opportunity.

You are more than welcome, and we are going to be talking about Disability:IN Joyce Bender Consulting Services in a little bit. But for right now, Tony, you heard what I said. I call you the never— you're the, like, the Energizer Bunny. Oh, bunny, that fits now that I think about it. But you are Mr. Energizer. You are the congressman that forgot to retire. You are constantly constantly doing something to help out and change employment and quality of life for people with disabilities, and you have a new thing you've been working on, and that would be digital accessibility. And I wondered if you would please share what has happened with our listeners.

Happy to do so, Joyce. I'll start off for you listeners. When Joyce calls me the Energizer Bunny, she's referencing my last name, Coelho, in Portuguese means rabbit. So she's taken advantage of my last name, but I love her and appreciate it. Um, as in— and Joyce, you should just be careful, I'm an old bunny, you know, at 82, uh, I'm getting there, but I still don't intend to retire, as you point out. In regards to—

well, you know what you say, you say don't let the old man in, so I say don't let the old bunny in.

Okay, good. The, the interest that the new project I've been working on for 13 years has been to make sure that the internet is accessible to people who are sight impaired, hearing impaired, and physically impaired., and during, whenever they want to do something through the internet, they have difficulty doing so. And for the, as the original author of the ADA, I felt that the ADA covered the internet, U.S. internet, and that as a result of that, it should be in the program, and they're not, because some of the courts have ruled that the ADA was before the internet really was, quote unquote, discovered. And so we've had to fight that. So started off 13 years ago in trying to make that happen. And finally, this year, we accomplished one thing. And there's a couple of titles in the ADA. Title II is state, federal, and local governments. Title III his businesses. So we got an executive order through President Biden that said all state, local, and federal governments have to make their Internets accessible. That's a huge breakthrough. And the reason I get excited about it— well, and then next year, hopefully, we'll then work on the business Title III. But the reason I get excited about what we've done is that those companies who provide the products for people to access the internet for state and local governments, those products will be the same ones that they provide to business and everyone else because they're not going to make a product for state and local governments and one for business. They're going to make one product. So if it's accessible, then you're going to have a situation state, local, and federal governments, the law will be enforced by the Justice Department, whereas with businesses, it'll be because they get the product from, from these developers, and as a result, they'll be complying, but they're not going to be enforced by the Justice Department. So I feel really good. We made the breakthrough. Uh, took a long time, but everything on the ADA has taken It's taken a long time to get done. But if anything, we're persistent and we never give up. And so that's the project. Joyce is excited that we've made the progress we've made. We'll hopefully see a major difference. What people don't really appreciate is that, like, during the pandemic, people with hearing impaired, sight impaired, and physically impaired could not do commerce, could not make appointments, could not do anything else that the rest of us took for granted. Because while we couldn't get out, we could order food, we could order, do our businesses, we could use the bank, we could do anything else because we had the internet. But those people with hearing loss or sight loss and physical inabilities, they then had to use loved ones or somebody else, a friend, to get them the access. That, in my view, is un-Christian, immoral, and every other thing. And, and, and I feel strongly about it. And that's how we got it through, just pointing out the unfairness of this, that millions of Americans— and I should say, as a result of this, these products that will be developed by the developers will be available internationally. And so my view again is that these companies will provide one product, and that will be something that will be internationally available. So it's an exciting time, Joyce.

That is, that is, and that truly is freedom the way it should be for all people with disabilities. And Jill, I bet you agree with me that he's the congressman that never retires and the Energizer Bunny, because I know, just as I've known you for a long time, you've known Tony for a long time, and he is still a force to be reckoned with.

Well, and I, you know, I just want to say thank you.

She doesn't have a choice but to agree. She doesn't have a choice except to agree with you on this show.

I mean, thank you, Tony, for, um, for getting these regulations past the finish line. I mean, it just They're so important, to your point, and we have so much work to do in these hills around digital accessibility. And, you know, accessibility is at the intersection of everything, and everyone benefits as a result of accessibility. But we know that it was a lot of hard work and a lot of years it took you to get them across the finish line. And it's exciting, the direction that things are headed. Recognizing that we still have a lot more to do, right?

Right, absolutely. A lot more to do. And the most important one, of course, is jobs, which you and Joyce Bender are involved in. And that's a— the more jobs we provide, The disability community will do something. I've told 5 of the last 6 presidents that we're the only community that wants to pay taxes. And if we're paying taxes, that means we have a job. And so a job is critical for us, for our family to be able to rent or own a home, a car, or whatever, but to be treated just like anybody else. And most people don't want to pay taxes, but we do because it's the, the symbol of that we're just like everybody else. We can get a job, we can do work, we can do, uh, everything everybody else does. So I applaud you and Joyce for trying to make a big difference in regards to providing jobs. And I know Joyce is going to talk about it later, but I love the two of you for what you've done.

Oh, well, thank you, Tony. And you're right about Jill. I— Jill, how long have I known you? Go back to Seattle.

A lot of years. It's been, you know, probably close to 25.

Yeah, I would say so. And the first time I heard Jill speak, and this is when it was USB-All-In, I said, oh my God, what a rock star. She's going to do something. And boy, did she ever. Do something. So, Jill, I want to talk about disability, and I want to just tell you one thing. I tell everyone this. When I went to the conference this year and I walked in the door and saw how many chairs were there and looked up, I thought, okay, I'll get my 10,000 steps in, because it was huge. I couldn't believe it when I walked in. I thought, no wonder we can't have tables any longer. We'd have to come to PNC Park in Pittsburgh to fit in and do that, but it has really, really grown. And I want to ask you, how long has it been since it was USBLN? When did that all change, Jill, and what is your job there? What do you do?

So I serve as the president and CEO of Disability:IN. And you're right, going back, we— the movement began under Tony's leadership in the '90s. And it started out as chapters across the US. And in 2007, the national organization, if you will, was born that was called US Business Leadership Network. And in 2018, we were able to work together in partnership with our stakeholders to rebrand to a name that conveyed that disability is a strength and a natural part of the human experience that actually adds great value, right, that makes businesses more competitive. To be inclusive of talent and suppliers like yourself and customers with disabilities. So we're on a journey. We've grown our work to reach beyond the US and are actively engaged in all regions around the world. And we have a lot of work to do. And when Tony talked about advising the last 5 of the 6 presidents around people with disabilities, talent with disabilities wanting to work and pay taxes, you know, and talked about digital accessibility, right? Like, in order for things to be accessible, companies need to employ us because we can help make that a reality, right? Talent with disabilities are We're the greatest resource that business has. And I'm just grateful to be on this journey and grateful for the mentorship of you, Tony, and you, Joyce, to help us build this movement and to drive employment for everybody.

And I know you are all in. All in. Hey, that's all in disability. And how many, Jill? People were at the conference? And as I recall, there was also a large number of people attending virtually.

So, uh, last July we were in Vegas. We had 3,000, uh, people in person. We had another 2,000 people online, and we had representation from you know, over 30 countries around the globe. And, you know, last week, last week we were in Ireland. We had a convening in Ireland with over 300 people in person from 21 countries. And so, you know, we are expanding our reach and working to create that space where talent that sits within companies with disabilities, along with allies and disability-owned businesses, where we come together and where companies— we're that place where companies are coming together to learn from each other, right? Not about why, because like we know why, but what companies need to learn how to do is the how. How to be inclusive of talent with disabilities, you know, whether that's working on accommodations in the workplace or advancing self-identification or making their internal and external products, services, technology accessible to everyone. The list goes on. We're still working on accessibility in the built environment as well. Right? There's a lot of work to be done, and there's a lot to be learned from each other.

Oh, yes. Jill, how large is Disability:IN? And if you don't mind, how would you explain to our listeners, including around the world, what is Disability:IN? How do you explain what you are?

I would have you close your eyes and say that we are the intersection where multinational corporations and disability intersect. And what does that mean? That means disability lives everywhere within your company, whether it's in your culture, your leadership, your talent, your enterprise-wide access, your community engagement, your procurement, your marketing, your communications. Uh, we live everywhere, and Disability:IN is the place where these large multinational corporations are coming together to meet each other where they're at, learn from each other, whether it's through tools like the Disability Equality Index or working in partnership with disability-owned businesses like yourself, Joyce Bender. Our very first— our first certified disability-owned business. And why does that matter? Because these large multinational corporations have supplier diversity programs and are consciously working to include ethnic and racially diverse businesses, LGBT-owned businesses, and women-owned businesses. And we are the entity that is working to connect them with disability-owned businesses because why? Because we know that disability-owned businesses is a form of employment, right? Not only do talent with disabilities own businesses like yourself, but the beautiful thing is you are 10 times more likely to turn around and employ talent with disabilities. So we want to do everything in our power to advance inclusive procurement.

And Jill, I wear my pin proudly that I am the first Adobe. It is now on my signature. So every time I meet someone, I say, "Hey, I was the first. I'm the first." And now there are 800. And Tony, you know, I always say to Tony, "Did you ever imagine when you authored the ADA the millions and millions of people you would impact? And did you ever, Tony—" I was on the President's Committee. When Tony was the chair under President Clinton. I remember very clearly when Tony started this committee, the business committee that became the USBLN. And Tony, in your wildest dreams, did you ever think that one decision would end up impacting thousands of companies and people now all around the world?

Well, Joyce Bender, when we did it, the President's Committee was a small federal agency, and President Clinton asked me to head it up. I told him that I would do it. I was working on Wall Street at the time, so I was not paid and a civilian, so not a federal employee. But I said to him that I'd be happy to do it. I did it for 6 years. And I said, at the end of my term, my time, if I don't feel it is of any value, I want you to kill the agency. If we've made it into something, I want you to move it from where it is, a small little independent agency, to a position in the cabinet. And so it was successful. And now it's an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Policy. But part of that group, we set up different committees. One of them, of course, was the Business Committee, and we grew that, and from that, we then set up the Business Leadership Network. And we had a strong person there who got it started. But it really didn't catch on until there was a dynamo that took it over, and that's Jill. Jill took over USBLN, and that grew quickly into Disability:IN, and it is where it is today. I might add that when we set up USBLN, our first chair was the president of the US Chamber of Commerce. So what we were trying to do then was to make sure that business understood it was positive for them to be involved with the disability community and employing people with disabilities. So the success today is all because of Jill's hard work, aggressiveness, and strong desire to make a difference. And you know what's fabulous is she has and continues to, and as she pointed out, it's now worldwide. The ADA is the law of the land in over 50 different countries today, a variety of ours, but it has spread rapidly. But Disability:IN is the one that takes it to the next step, and that is jobs, and that's what it's all about.

Well, that is where, as I always say, that is where the rubber meets the road. And that is why it is historic, this new collaboration that has never been before between Disability:IN and Bender Consulting Services. And Tony is the chair of the Bender Advisory Board. As a matter of fact, our dinner meeting is coming up. And Tony has been passionate. You know, Bender is going to be next year 30 years, 30 years old, and we both have been so frustrated with what the heck do we need to do to see employment really move up finally for people with disabilities, this untapped labor pool of great talent. And then Tony talked to me about what if, what if we partnered with Jill at Disability:IN, if they would do that, if they would consider that, what if we would do that? Think about that though, how awesome it is that it's a Disability:IN with the first disability-owned business enterprise that happens to be in the business of search and recruitment of Americans with disabilities at all levels. And I am so thrilled to announce, as we— if you haven't heard, as we are kicking off National Disability Employment Month, that we are off and running We are started in this great endeavor. I am telling everyone about it, including Jonathan Capehart and other people at MSNBC, because I believe we can do something really huge. And Jill, I am very honored to be doing with you— this with you— an international organization. I call it the two J's, Jill and Joyce Bender. But Tony, I want to thank you for constantly being innovative. And what's your view of this, Tony?

Well, I think it's historic. I think the opportunity here is tremendous to educate people as to what is needed. Jill has a great reputation in regards to the business community. 800 different companies that are involved in disability, that is just spectacular. And these are all very, the major companies and so forth. So the opportunity to make a big difference in regards to employment is there. And so having Jill with her contacts and relationships with these companies, and Joyce Bender with your ability to find people that have disabilities for any job, any paying job is tremendous. You have a list of people several thousand long of people who want to get jobs, and with Jill's effort now with these companies, you can place a lot of those people. We've increased the employment of people with disabilities by a very small number, but this is a great opportunity to increase it dramatically. So I'm Very, very proud of what the two of you are doing and excited, excited that we're finally going to be able to make a big difference for those of us with disabilities regarding employment. And Jill, how about this?

I'm so excited. What do you think about this, Jill?

I think that this is a tremendous partnership, and I'm really excited about this collaboration Companies are always wanting that trusted partner to work with to source talent, and who better to partner with than our first certified disability-owned business enterprise? So not only are these companies having the opportunity to recruit and hire and hopefully advance and grow, right, this talent with disabilities, but they're also having the opportunity to work in partnership with a business, Bender Consulting and Joyce and her team, that is owned by a woman with a disability, and that's powerful. So what more can you ask for, right? Driving the employment of talent with disabilities as well as increasing your spend with a certified disability-owned business. So it's a win-win, and we're really excited about making this come to fruition. And I know somebody on your team told me that they were tracking metrics. So really excited about the opportunity to report out next year on the success of this partnership.

Oh, yes. And I'm going to tell you, listeners, I know a lot of colleagues of mine in business that listen to this show. If you aren't working with Disability:IN, you're way behind. You've got to get in touch with Disability:IN at— is it disabilityin.org or com? Uh, org. DisabilityInn.org. And if you're interested, get in touch. There's a contact, uh, uh, key there, a button that you can go to and tell them you're interested in joining and being a member of Disability:IN. And you can also say, hey, let Joyce Bender know I do want to hire people. So, you know, you have the ability. You have the ability to make the change. It is you. And Jill, what else can we do to get this news out to the business world?

Well, we are, you know, working throughout the year in multiple ways to raise awareness and to engage with our partners through a wide variety of our programs and make sure that this is on their radar and that folks are getting connected to vendor consulting to source talent. And I think that we're also working to— we have a NextGen program. That is college students and recent graduates with disabilities that are in the STEM, the— as well as business and finance, and putting it on their radar that they want to get connected with Bender Consulting because Bender Consulting is an entity that can help talent with disabilities secure employment. And I think it's— So I think it's getting business aware of this opportunity and as well as getting the talent pool aware of the opportunity. So we got to work it from both angles.

Well, I want to talk for a minute a little more about those NextGen leaders. I remember when it first started. Okay, so these are college graduates or people that graduated still looking for work, or people that graduate and they have employment, but they're looking to move up in their career. And oh my goodness, these young people, they are so talented. Jill, I can't believe the graduate degrees and the STEM experience. It is Unbelievable. I mean, you're really missing out if you don't call me and talk about Next Gen.

You know, you're right. It's— they're unbelievable talent, and it's hard to believe that it's 2024 and that there are still so many attitudinal barriers and biases that exist out there, right? And so we have the opportunity to work with this talent But we also have the opportunity to experience through their experience what they're facing with towards securing employment. And so we, you know, it's National Disability Employment Awareness Month and we want to work to tear down those barriers. And there's no greater way to do that than through this partnership with Bender Consulting.

And there's no better way to do this than to hire someone. I'm not kidding, these NextGen leaders, they are phenomenal. They have a great background, and you know, Disability:IN does not just recruit anyone. I mean, these are like the cream of the crop. They are really amazing. I, I was so impressed when I saw these candidates. And Tony, I know you know that you work with companies that when they are looking for someone, they too are looking for specific skills.

That's right, Joyce Bender. I want to make sure that your listeners know that we're talking about highly skilled, highly paid opportunities. And people need to understand this. The thing that's so great about what the two of you are doing is that the problem that we in the disability community have is what I call stigma. There are people who immediately think that just because we have a disability that we can't participate in in society like everybody else. And it's been there for decades, for years. So it's not something that just started this year or 10 years ago. It's been going on for years and years. And we've got to get rid of the stigma. And how do you get rid of the stigma? Jobs. That people have jobs and people then see those of us with disabilities employed doing very creative, successful jobs all over the place. And once that happens, you tear away at stigma. And that's the most important thing from my point of view that I work on all the time. How do we get rid of stigma? And what you and Joyce are— you and Jill are doing, Joyce, is exactly the right way to do it, the most important way to do it, and that's what will make success in getting rid of stigma.

And you know, you talk about stigma, Tony, And there are many people with non-apparent disabilities like the 3 people on the phone today. And the 2 of us, Tony, both live with epilepsy. And, you know, I wanted you to talk about the stigma with epilepsy. Wouldn't you agree that it's really strong with epilepsy? Yes, it is.

You know, I think Joyce Bender, the most important thing for those of us who have epilepsy is when we wake up in the morning, we don't know when we might have a seizure during that day or where it might be. All right? So that's something that's constantly with us even though we don't have a visible disability. We as individuals have a constant concern all the time. Now, in regards to are being able to do work. You know, I'll take example what I've been able to do. I started off milking cows as a young man. I became a staffer to a congressman. I became a congressman. I worked on Wall Street. I am now on several corporate boards. And I still have seizures. I've had seizures for 64 years. And so it's a question of whether or not you have skills, whether or not You have ability. And if you do, your disability should not be a negative in any way. But it's getting people to understand that they have to see through that seizure that I have in order to recognize what I can do. And that's true with all of us with disabilities, is for people to see through whatever their disability is and realize that they can be extremely valuable to your company, extremely valuable as individuals with your other employees. And that's how we get there. That's how we are successful.

Yes, and I'm glad you gave that example, Tony, of how successful you've been in your life. And, you know, author of the ADA, worked with Census, worked with Section 503. As you can tell, I've known Tony a long time because I know he has done all of these things. And when you were talking about stigma, Tony has this way of turning it around. You know that, Tony? One of my favorite stories is that reporter that said, "Do you want someone that would throw a fit in the White House?" Can you tell that story? Yeah, it's a quick story.

Uh, when I was running for Congress my first time in 1978, my opponent basically said— and it was in October and it was obvious that I was doing extremely well and he was having trouble— at a dinner that one night, he said to his audience, he said, I don't know if you know it or not, but Tony's a very sick man. He has epilepsy. And, uh, and so what would you think if he went to the White House to argue a critical issue, Central California water, if he went to the White House to argue, uh, for water rights and so forth and had a seizure? And so, uh, people were very upset. They called me and they were upset about it. But then a reporter called me and said, I understand your opponent said X last night. 'What is your reaction?' And I don't know, God was with me, and, and I said, 'You know, the 13 years I've worked in Washington, I've known a lot of people who've gone to the White House and had fits. At least I'd have an excuse.' And I've never been attacked again for my epilepsy.

And you know what, I love that story. I tell that, and you know what, still, still makes me laugh. I love that story. That's what I meant, Jill, about Tony. And hey, Jill, what's your opinion about stigma with non-apparent disabilities?

Absolutely. It's false evidence appearing real, right? It's not real. And I love Tony's story. And, you know, I think what we're trying to do is create a world where we can all own this part of our identity and not hide and not be, you know, shamed. You know, in my situation, I have dyslexia and, you know, I didn't tell people about it. I thought it meant I was stupid. You know, I had to go to the special class for reading and for math, but over time I've realized to learn that it's part of who I am, and it's a strength. It's not something to be ashamed of. It just means that I learn differently. And so, we have to work together and change the world. And to Tony's point, one of the greatest ways that we can do that is through employment.

Yes, because without employment, and Tony and you have heard me say this many times, But you are never free in this country until you have competitive employment. Can't buy a car, can't go on vacation, can't live the American dream until you have employment. Tony, just a couple last questions. Do you have advice for Jill and me on this collaboration?

Yes, the first thing is, as both of you know, is you can't be afraid to ask. I always say that in my career, I have not been afraid to ask people for whatever I needed in order to accomplish whatever I was trying to do. And I tell people all the time, if you ask 10 people and you get 7 nos and only 3 yeses, If you take baseball, if you're batting .300, you're a star, you're very successful. Well, I say that when I'm getting 3 out of 10 yeses, that I'm a star, I'm very successful. So you can't be afraid to be turned down, and you can't let being turned down become a negative. I say every time you get turned down, that just gives you more drive to get another hit, get another success. And if you take that attitude, you're always going to prevail. You're not afraid of a no. You take a no as a challenge to get another yes.

Oh, that is so true. And I will say, the more nos you have, the closer you get to a yes. Jill, what do you think about that?

It just, it makes me think of my grandma who was like somebody that played a really formative role in my life. And she used to tell me, "The squeaky wheel gets the oil." And so she'd say, "Never quit squeaking." And, you know, that's what we need to do is just keep moving forward and keep making the ask because it only takes one. Right? You get that, you get that yes, and we're off to the races.

I'll never forget, I met this young man that could not find employment. And he said, "I have sent out over 103 resumes." And I had just interviewed him, and I said, "Well, guess what?" Today, that next number is your lucky day because I am going to get you a job. And, you know, talk about perseverance. But you've got— if you're a person with a disability listening to the show and you feel like I've tried and tried, you keep knocking, you keep knocking on those doors. And of course, get in touch with me, Joyce Bender at Bender Consult. Www.disabilityin.com. But do not give up, and you're going to be hearing more and more and more about this collaboration. You're going to be hearing more and more about it. Once again, if you're a company and you're not working with Disability:IN, you should be. Shame on you. Get in touch. And if you are a young person make sure you get in touch. And if you're a NextGen leader, you know that I am out there working for you to find you employment. Jill, I wanted to ask you before we end, have— when you think of these NextGen leaders, do you have any stories that stand out to you? And I know there is a young man that I'm determined to find something for that had an impact on you. Can you talk about that?

Absolutely. One of my favorite things every summer when we have our conference, we bring a cohort, right, a group of next-gen talent. And every summer, you know, just having that week-long face-to-face immersion with this talent, like, excites me. This year I met a young man with— who's graduated and has a background in biomolecular, you know, science, like way above mine. My brain power, and has really been struggling to get a job. And he just really had a profound impact on me, because he came up to me and he said, you know, I found my home. And it was profound for me, because he was really touched by being surrounded by professional with disabilities who work at these multinational corporations, being surrounded by talent with disabilities like Joyce who own their own company. And, you know, I'm excited because I know that Bender Consulting is working with this young man and working to help him secure employment. Employment. And I know he's going to succeed. And, you know, so there's lots of stories like that, like James, and lots of opportunity and talent for business to tap into. Oh, and he is so smart.

Joe, you are right. He is so smart. What a background he has. And, you know, I just realized that we have not talked about something that really impresses me. You know, we were talking about business and companies make a difference. The letter, the CEO letter, would you mind talking about that?

So we have a CEO letter on disability inclusion, and we have, you know, well over 200 CEOs of multinational corporations, including, you know, CEOs like the CEO of Salesforce or the CEO of Microsoft or the CEO of Accenture, lots of different brands that have signed on. And what they're calling on is they're calling on their peers. To prioritize disability inclusion and to utilize tools like the Disability Equality Index, which is a benchmarking tool that was created in partnership between Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities. And it's designed to help these large corporations look at culture and leadership and enterprise-wide access in employment practices, community engagement, and supplier diversity, and identify concrete actions that they can take. Uh, it's 67 pages long, so there's a lot of actions in those pills that companies can take to advance on their journey, uh, to be more disability inclusive and to employ talent to procure talent and to market the talent with disability.

And that makes a difference, and it makes people with disabilities who work at that company proud. It makes them proud. Jill, how many companies have done this, the Disability Equality Index? So we are 10 years in.

In year one, we started with 80, and this year the Disability Equality Index expanded into 7 additional markets beyond the U.S., and we had nearly 750 submissions. In the U.S. alone, we have over 70 of the Fortune 100 participating, and we have over half of the Fortune 500. So that's to say we've come a long way, but it's also to say we have a long ways to go. So if people are interested in learning more, you can go to disabilityin.org, click on what we do, scroll down to the Disability Equality Index. There's lots of information there. Feel free to email me at Jill, J-I-L-L at disabilityin.org, and we're here to help.

Now, I remember, Jill, when you got to go to the stock exchange to ring the bell. Yes, we did.

We— that's when we unveiled the Accenture business case in 2018 and recently unveiled an update. It's called the Disability Inclusion Imperative. And if you click on our resources at disabilityin.org, you can download the Disability Imperative, Getting to Equal the Disability Imperative.

Yeah, shout out to Nedra and Lori and Julie from Extenture for this incredible tool that you provided so that it isn't just our opinion, but there's data. So, Tony, what message do you have for our listeners today?

Well, one, I would hope that they've been listening to Jill and you about what the potential of this collaboration is. Uh, it's going to make a huge difference. And so the important thing for all of you on the call is to see if there's a way that you can help Joyce Bender and Jill Peters make this succeed in numbers that we could never believe that make it happen. So it just takes a bit of interest and support on your side to make a difference in your country or here in the U.S. And so I would urge all of you to help make this happen in a big, big, big way.

Yes, and it's— you're going to reach out to benderconsult.com or disabilityin.org, especially. I know I have some people in the media that listen. Make sure you follow what we're doing because we have now until next July in Florida at the next Disability:IN conference for 2025. How about you, Jill? What message do you have?

Let's work together and advance employment of talent with disabilities. Take action. Contact Bender Consulting. Contact Disability:IN. Let's turn the tide.

Let's turn that tide. Well, thank you, Jill. Thank you, Tony. I'm so excited. What a way to kick off National Disability Employment Month. Sorry, that's what I have to say. What a way to kick off this month. So exciting. We have a lot of powerhouses on the show this month. Including Taryn Williams, the Assistant Secretary from ODEP. A lot of power. But we started, as you can see, with two powerhouses. So we end every show with a quote. And if any one of you has received an email from me and you go to my signature, you will see there is a quote. And that quote is, "Work gives us dignity," said Toni Cuello. So in the words of Mary Brooker, I have to end by saying, when you go out today, remember, choose joy.

At Highmark, we believe what makes us different makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster diverse skills, which complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition by the USBLN and the American Association of People with Disabilities as a 2014 Disability Equality Index Best Place to Work. So we'll continue to celebrate diverse individuals because inclusion benefits us all. To find out more, visit highmark.com.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America variety channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.