The Valuable 500 Gain Further Momentum with 'Generation Valuable' on the Anniversary of ADA

- Today,the Valuable 500 announce 28 adopters of its leadership up mentoring programme for people with disabilities from members spanning 4 continents

- Generation Valuable participants will be paired with a mentor at C-Suite level within their organisation and will explore each of the Valuable 500's transformation pillars

- Early adopters include Telefonica,AXA and ATOS

WASHINGTON,July 26,2022 -- Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). This changed the world as we know it by activating legislation which provided people with disabilities access to buildings,equitable education and made it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person for employment.

Whilst it is important to recognise and celebrate the strides we have made towards disability inclusion – there is much more progress to be made. The way society views disability needs to evolve,dispelling the myth that disability is something to pity or fear. By changing this and recognising how disabled people enrich communities,society will be empowered to ensure disabled people are included.

'Generation Valuable'will serve as an unique leadership opportunity for people with disabilities to build the future of the corporate C-Suite,driving disability inclusion through systematic change and revolutionising the boardrooms of tomorrow. Building a community of disabled talent who importantly share their experiences upward to inform the C-suite of today about how to make businesses more inclusive.

Caroline Casey,Founder,the Valuable 500,commented:

"This initiative proves that there is an array of disabled talent within businesses,and that they are more than capable of occupying positions of power and leadership. The Valuable 500 is striving to radically change the awful results of research conducted by Tortoise Media that found that 'no FTSE company had a senior leader or above who identified as having a disability.'"

The complete list of early adopters includes:

Alstom

ATOS

AXA Group

Boston Consulting Group

Centrica

Channel 4

Clifford Chance

Coles Group

Deloitte

Enel

EY

Fidelity International

HSBC

ISS/AS

ITV

L'Oréal

Macquarie Group

Mahindra

Nielsen

MSD

Omnicom Group

Ottobloc

P&G

Reach PLC

Roche

Springer Nature

TD Bank Group

Telefonica

José María Álvarez-Pallete,Chairman & CEO,Telefónica,commented:

"For Telefónica,contributing to providing opportunities for people with disabilities is not only an ethical imperative,but also a question of talent and business. In the current context,no company can afford to do without any valuable professional. Diversity allows us to better understand the real needs of customers,to connect with society,and to be more innovative and productive. Together,we need to empower people with disabilities to humanise technology and break down barriers with digitalisation. Thank you to The Valuable 500 for promoting such an innovative initiative as 'Generation Valuable.'"

Find out more about the Valuable 500 here.