Highmark honored for workplace disability inclusion

For the eighth consecutive year, Highmark Health has been named a Best Place to Work for individuals with disabilities in the Disability Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey administered jointly by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN.

The DEI is the world's most comprehensive benchmarking tool for the Fortune 1000 and Am Law 200 to measure disability workplace inclusion against competitors.

For its comprehensive efforts to attract, develop and retain people with disabilities in its workforce, national blended health organization Highmark Health has earned a top score of 100. In 2022, 415 corporations utilized the DEI to benchmark their disability inclusion efforts. In 2022, 240 companies received a score of 100; 68 companies received a score of 90 and 27 companies received a score of 80.

“Highmark Health is honored to be recognized by the DEI for the eighth consecutive year. Earning the award’s top score is a testament to our organization’s efforts to advance a comprehensive internal and external disability inclusion strategy. When we create an inclusive environment internally, the positive outcomes transcend to every patient, member, customer and community we care for externally,” said Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG, senior vice president and chief clinical, diversity, equity and inclusion officer of the Enterprise Institute of Equitable Health at Highmark Health.

This year's recognition measures culture and leadership; enterprise-wide access; employment practices (benefits, recruitment, employment, education, retention and advancement, accommodations); community engagement; supplier diversity; and non-U.S. operations (non-weighted). In 2022, the DEI included new non-weighted leadership questions about including disability in corporate board diversity criteria.

“Disability inclusion is a rapidly expanding aspect of corporate culture, and it’s gratifying to partner with 415 companies on the 2022 Disability Equality Index,” said Jill Houghton, president and CEO of Disability:IN. “These top-scoring companies not only excel in disability inclusion, many are also adopting emerging trends and pioneering measures that can move the disability agenda from accommodation to inclusion and ultimately, genuine belonging."

Among those practices earning Highmark Health the Best Place to Work recognition are programs and partnerships that help recruit people with disabilities, including the Rooney Rule; a centralized accommodation process; support and leadership of organizations in the community that advocate for people with disabilities; executive sponsorship of the business case for recruiting, hiring and developing people with disabilities, a national advisory council; supplier diversity and provider diversity programs; and enterprise-wide support of business resources groups through which employees with disabilities get involved in workplace, marketplace and community-wide programs.

Globally, people with disabilities represent over 1 billion people. Disability is a natural part of the human experience, and it crosses lines of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and religion.

"There is no single best way to practice disability inclusion; however, the companies taking the DEI share the desire to create a workplace that fosters the concept of bringing your whole self to the office," said Maria Town, president and CEO of AAPD. "We look forward to working with all of the participants to help identify meaningful ways to build upon their current practices as we continue on the disability inclusion journey together."

Highmark Health's Abilities BRG raises awareness about the needs of, and offers support to, people with disabilities and their caregivers in the workplace, marketplace and community.

The Abilities BRG encourages workplace inclusion, equality of opportunity and best practices in recruitment. Its members also build community partnerships through educational-to-career experiences for students with disabilities, advocate accessibility to Highmark Health facilities, act as champions for customers with disabilities, and provide a voice for those who care for or support people with disabilities.

The DEI was launched in 2015 by Disability:IN and the AAPD, and is acknowledged today as the most robust disability inclusion assessment tool in business. Now in its eighth year, the DEI exists to help businesses make a positive impact on the unemployment/underemployment of people with disabilities.

To learn more, go to DisabilityEqualityIndex.org, aapd.com, disabilityin.org, and highmarkhealth.org.