National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) celebrates and brings awareness to American workers with disabilities, with the purpose of promoting inclusion and equality in the workplace. NDEAM is also a time to recognize the contributions and achievements of workers with disabilities across many industries, as well as further educate employers to provide resources and information to help create an accessible and inclusive workplace for those with disabilities.
5 Facts to learn more about NDEAM:
27% of adults in the United States have some type of disability (1).
In 2022, 21.3% of people with a disability were employed. A year-over-year increase from 19.1% (2).
In 1945, Congress declared the first week of each October as National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week. In 1965, it expanded the week to a month and changed the name to National Disability Employment Awareness Month (3).
On average, companies identified as leaders in disability inclusion see 28% higher revenue, double net income and 30% higher economic profit margins than their counterparts over a four year period (4).
Working from home is more common among people without disabilities (24%) compared to people with disabilities (19%) (5).
Sources:
“Disability Impacts All of Us”, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 May. 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html
“Person with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics – 2020”, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf
“National Disability Employment Awareness Month”, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/disability-employment-awareness-month/about/
US Department of Labor. “National Disability Employment Awareness Month: Advancing Access and Equity.” Youtube, 7 Sep. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e96nbW0ZiBY
“Study: Just 1 Out of 5 People with Disabilities Works from Home. Millions Still Do Not Have the Option”, Rutgers, 30 Sep. 2021, https://smlr.rutgers.edu/news-events/smlr-news/study-1-out-5-people-disabilities-work-from-home