For the third year in a row, Nielsen earned a score of 90% on the Disability Equality Index (DEI) and earned the distinction of being included on DEI’s “Best Companies for Disability Inclusion” list. The DEI—a joint effort of Disability:IN (formerly the United States Business Leadership Network) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)—is the most trusted comprehensive benchmarking tool for disability inclusion in the U.S. The index measures key performance indicators across organizational culture, leadership, accessibility, employment, community engagement, support services and supplier diversity.
Our rating on the DEI was announced at the Disability:IN conference from July 9-12 in Las Vegas, which we sponsored via our Abled and Disabled Employees Partnering Together (ADEPT) employee resource group (ERG). ADEPT leaders spoke on panels and interacted with job seekers and business owners with differing abilities. This work fulfilled a key part of ADEPT’s mission, shared by each of our nine global ERGs, to influence business success by supporting talent acquisition initiatives, community outreach and education.
Megan Belden, Director, Consumer Neuroscience and ADEPT ERG Regional Co-lead, participated in a panel discussion on strategies for communicating with colleagues with different communication styles, as well as how to approach difficult work conversations. The content of this panel was particularly important for people with differing abilities, who occasionally have to proactively raise their hand to ensure their employer provides a workplace that will enable them to thrive. Megan was joined on the panel by representatives from Caterpillar, 3M, Fidelity Investments and Ernst & Young. The client interaction Megan had as part of the panel is a shining example of how our ERGs drive conversations with our clients around workplace inclusion to the benefit of our shared business ecosystem.
"梅根说："尼尔森是一家全球性公司，在全球拥有超过46,000名不同能力的员工，因此，我们有责任让员工在工作能力受到限制时能够'举手发言'。"我们的全球 ADEPT ERG 活跃在三大洲的五个国家，它提供了一个沟通的基础架构，确保我们的员工有发言权，同时也是一个支持性的社区，每个人的独特背景和观点都被纳入其中并受到重视。
除了小组讨论之外，我们的 ADEPT 领导者还有机会直接与学生和求职者进行不同能力的互动。我们的领导为未来的尼尔森实习生举行了现场求职面试，并担任了 "鲨鱼坦克 "式竞赛的评委，让学生们向来自不同行业的专业人士小组提出商业创意。ADEPT的领导者们一直在寻求与有不同能力的学生建立联系，以确保尼尔森被视为一个具有包容性的首选雇主，会为所有员工提供必要的便利，使他们能够在工作中发挥出最佳水平。
ADEPT 对我们获得 DEI 榜单的认可起到了重要作用，并将继续为我们不同能力的员工带来积极的全球影响。去年，我们公司的品牌发生了变化，这就是一个很好的例子。我们向 46,000 名员工推送的符合品牌要求的最新桌面背景对于一些有视觉障碍的员工来说过于明亮。因此，这些员工难以完成日常工作。ADEPT的领导者介入其中，与我们的市场营销和技术团队合作，设计出一种新的背景，既能让所有尼尔森员工都能使用，又完全符合我们的品牌标准。不同能力的员工通过ADEPT提出了自己的意见和建议--如果没有他们的意见，我们的内部团队可能不会注意到无障碍问题并采取行动。
"我们的 ERG 为我们的所有员工带来了积极的变化，而不仅仅是那些参与和领导 ERG 的员工，"负责领导全球 ERG 的多元化项目副总裁 Myriam Vidalon 说。"我们的新桌面背景是一个真实的例子，展示了 ERG 成员如何推动我们在世界各地的工作场所实现切实的改善。正是通过 ERG，我们的日常员工才有机会以自己的形象塑造我们的包容性文化。
上图：尼尔森参加 "Disability:IN "会议的人员接受了我们在 "残疾人包容指数"（DEI）上获得的 90% 的认可以及 "残疾人包容最佳雇主 "的称号。
