ALEXANDRIA, VA., July 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Disability:IN today announced the 2021 winners of the Disability:IN Inclusion Awards at their annual conference being held virtually this week. The companies recognized are visionary brands whose leaders and employees alike are actively taking steps to advance disability inclusion and equality in the workplace.
“The past year has been challenging for society as a whole as we have had to adapt to a new way of living, working and learning,” said Jill Houghton, President and CEO of Disability:IN. “It has been extremely gratifying to see individuals and corporations like our 2021 Inclusion Award winners rise to the occasion despite the challenges of their own ‘new normal’ and work tirelessly to create more inclusive workplaces and greater economic advantages for talent, customers and suppliers with disabilities.”
The 11 Inclusion Award categories and their winners are:
2021 Top Corporation for Disability-Owned Businesses: Merck & Co.
Merck has demonstrated outstanding inclusion of Disability:IN certified disability-owned businesses (including businesses owned by service-disabled veterans) and a commitment to disability business inclusion in their supply chain processes and corporate supplier diversity programs.
2021 John D. Kemp Leadership Award: Catherine P. Bessant, Bank of America
Cathy Bessant, Chief Operations & Technology Offer at Bank of America, has played a significant role in developing and influencing the company’s disability employment programs and services, resulting in measurable, tangible and positive outcomes that have dramatically improved disability employment opportunities at Bank of America.
2021 ERG/BRG of the Year: Intel Corporation
Intel’s Disability Employee/Business Resource Group is recognized for exemplary programming and practices that provide business value to the company and professional growth for its members.
2021 NextGen Alum of the Year: Ike Tallerine, Accenture
Ike Tallerine, Senior Financial Analyst at Accenture, is a NextGen Leader Initiatives alumnus who has gone above and beyond after participating in the program by not only demonstrating corporate leadership, but paying it forward for future NextGen Leaders.
2021 Supplier Diversity Advocate of the Year: Kimberly Marcus, AARP
Kimberly Marcus, Director of Supplier Diversity at AARP, is a procurement champion who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the utilization and growth of disability-owned businesses, and has provided exceptional support for certified Disability-Owned Business Enterprises- DOBE®s, Veteran-Disability Owned Business Enterprises (V-DOBEs™) and Service-Disabled Veteran Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (SDV-DOBEs™).
2021 Supplier of the Year: Certify My Company
Certify My Company, a leader in assisting companies in developing their supplier diversity programs, is recognized as a role model for its focus on growing disability business inclusion in the supply chain.
2021 Marketplace Innovator of the Year, Advertising/Marketing Category: Comcast
Comcast is recognized as a visionary corporation for its work to tell the remarkable stories of people of all disabilities who are empowered by their inclusive technologies.
2021 Marketplace Innovator of the Year, Product Category: Google
Google is recognized for the inclusive design of its products, enabling their use by people of all abilities.
2021 Employer of the Year: Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com is named Employer of the Year due to exemplary policies, strategies and initiatives that have resulted in measurable results in the areas of disability inclusiveness in the workplace, marketplace and supply chain.
2021 ERG/BRG Executive Sponsor of the Year: Alleace Gibbs, Northrop Grumman
Alleace Gibbs, Vice President of Communications at Northrop Grumman, is named ERG/BRG Executive Sponsor of the Year Award for her work as Executive Sponsor of the company’s VOICE ERG, which is committed to fostering an inclusive environment for persons with disabilities and employees who are caregivers to family members in need. She has made a measurable impact in the company as a champion for disability inclusion across the enterprise.
2021 Affiliate of the Year: Disability:IN Wisconsin
This year, our Wisconsin affiliate has been named Affiliate of the Year for demonstrating exemplary efforts in promoting the vision, mission and spirit of Disability:IN. The Wisconsin team helps their territory understand, utilize, and benefit from the valuable resources that people with disabilities present in the workplace, supply chain and marketplace.
About Disability:IN
Disability:IN is the global organization driving disability inclusion and equality in business. More than 280 corporations trust Disability:IN to activate and achieve disability inclusion across their enterprise and in the broader corporate mainstream. Through the world’s most comprehensive disability inclusion benchmarking; best-in-class conferences and programs; and expert counsel and engagement, Disability:IN works with leading businesses to create long-term business and societal impact.Join us at disabilityin.org/AreYouIN #AreYouIN.