Removing Barriers for Disabled Workers

New Research Group on Removing Barriers for Disabled Workers
11 May, 2011
The Conference Board today announced the formation of a new Research Working Group, Improving Employment Outcomes for Employees with Disabilities.

Partially funded by the Cornell IRL School and the U.S. Department of Education, the group will bring together HR executives, line executives, and outside experts to study the significant disparities that still exist between individuals with disabilities and the rest of the American workforce, and establish best practices for counteracting them.

These research questions are especially pressing with the passage of the 2010 financial reform—Section 342 of the Dodd–Frank Act establishes diversity offices charged to monitor the inclusion practices of all private firms that contract with regulatory agencies like the SEC and FDIC. Employees with disabilities are a designated minority group under these rules, and companies found to be excluding these groups from recruitment or advancement stand to lose their contracts.

“Companies are interested in this project for a variety of reasons,” said Daria Lamb, Senior Manager, Research Working Groups at The Conference Board. “Many are looking to hear about others’ successes and to have fresh eyes review their existing programs, with the goal of ensuring the best talent comes to the fore. Additionally, some companies are looking at this group as an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to expanding their workforce to regulatory agencies, and even as an opportunity to create visibility for this issue within their C-Suite.”


Several Fortune 500 companies have already joined the research team, and membership remains open. The first meeting of the group will be June 1–2 in New York, with five additional in-person and virtual meetings over the next six months, culminating in a final report. Contact Daria Lamb at daria.lamb@conferenceboard.org or (212) 339-0428 for further information about this Research Working Group.


About Research Working Groups

Research Working Groups are desiged to be rapid and targeted deep-dives into an emerging business issue. Participants in these groups work with knowledge experts and use the experiences of peer companies to develop a more robust perspective from which to inform their own decision-making, and to shape a platform for organizational action. Guided by researchers from The Conference Board , Research Working Groups provides a hands-on, confidential environment to convene with leading thinkers and executives steeped in a topic. Every Research Working Group ends with a detailed report of findings for participants, and the often with the publication of a Conference Board Research Report.
About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world’s leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in the United States.

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