L’Oréal USA: An Ideal and Inclusive Workplace for People with Disabilities

Published March 19, 2022

For four years in a row, L’Oréal has been granted a perfect score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index (DEI) for being an ideal workplace for people with disabilities. The company should serve as a shining example for businesses across the nation, considering that people with disabilities (approximately 60 million Americans) are the largest minority group in the country but still remain underrepresented in the workforce.

What is the Disability Equality Index (DEI) and what does it mean for businesses?

The Disability Equality Index (DEI) is a joint initiative of the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). It serves as a tool for companies to ultimately achieve disability inclusion and equality and serves as the U.S.’s most comprehensive annual benchmarking tool for corporations. Each company receives a score on a scale of 0 to 100. Companies that earn 80 and above are recognized as “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion.” Names of companies that score less than 80 on the DEI are kept confidential.

"The DEI helps companies measure their own progress on disability inclusion and challenges them to improve their policies and practices – not just because it's the right thing to do, but also because it's also good for business," said Ted Kennedy, Jr., who is not only a disability rights attorney but also the board chair of the AAPD. "Research shows that companies that champion disability inclusion significantly outperform their peers across key financial indices including revenue, net income, profit margins, and shareholder returns…."

Businesses that lead in areas specific to disability employment and inclusion have been found to have 28 % higher revenue, double the net income, and 30 percent higher economic profit margins than their counterparts. U.S. GDP could also gain an estimate of $25 billion if more persons with disabilities joined the labor force.

L’Oréal: Breaking the silence

Beginning in 2018, L’Oréal was the leader for "Breaking the Silence," a disability self-disclosure campaign. Its purpose was to give a voice to and build a community for disabled employees. “Breaking the Silence” moved towards its goal by encouraging employees to share personal stories, providing resources for people with disabilities, and creating valuable partnerships with disability organizations. Employees from all locations and levels of the company were included to spread and share their ideas.

“Breaking the Silence” has demonstrated significant success. As a result of the campaign, the number of employees who disclosed disabilities doubled

The five pillars of diversity and inclusion

L’Oréal is committed to promoting inclusion through the creation of a global policy and has stated that disability is a “key priority” for the company. L’Oréal has reportedly collaborated with local and international experts for fifteen years. These experts include associations, not-for-profit organizations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). With the help of said experts, the company was able to develop a global policy for integrating people with disabilities, structured around five pillars that L’Oréal lists on their website. These five pillars are:

  • Allowing employees who had an accident or a disease to keep on working, regardless of whether the accident or disease occurred at work or not.
  • Recruiting people with disabilities, welcoming interns with disabilities, and helping people with disabilities enter the workforce.
  • Accessibility of the premises and easy access to information for both employees and consumers.
  • Working together with the adapted and protected sector and suppliers.
  • Raising awareness among employees and informing them so they can disclose their disability, including mental health issues.

All in all

A lot can be learned from companies like L’Oréal. Not only is it possible to create a more inclusive workplace, but such inclusivity should be held as a standard—a goal that every company should be eager to work towards achieving.

 

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