Inclusion Drives Innovation: Countdown to National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Have you checked the calendar? National Disability Employment Awareness Month — is only a few weeks away, and there's no better time than now to start planning NDEAM festivities centered around this year's theme: 'Inclusion Drives Innovation.'
NDEAM is a nationwide campaign celebrated every October, promoting the skills and talents that workers with disabilities bring to our workplaces. This year's theme reflects the many ways that inclusion produces results in today's innovation economy. By hiring and welcoming the perspectives of diverse talent pools — including people with disabilities — businesses amplify their ability to gain fresh insights, creative solutions and big ideas.
This year, businesses in all industries can bring the NDEAM theme to life through events, outreach and educational activities, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy offers a wide range of ideas for inspiration. For example, businesses can display NDEAM posters (to be available soon), conduct disability awareness training for employees and express support for NDEAM through their social media activities. The possibilities are endless, and materials to help you get started can be found in ODEP's NDEAM Resource Toolbox.
In the words of U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, "Hiring employees with diverse abilities strengthens business, increases competition and drives innovation." This NDEAM, and all year long, employers are encouraged to advance that important message, and capitalize on an inclusive workplace to fuel business success.
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