07/18/2019

Walmart, Amazon, Meijer Among Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion

The 2019 Disability Equality Index features 156 companies, including Walmart, Amazon and Meijer

Walmart, Amazon and Meijer have each been named a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion on the 2019 Disability Equality Index (DEI), a unique joint initiative of Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). The index measures key performance indicators across organizational culture, leadership, accessibility, employment, community engagement, support services and supplier diversity. This year, the DEI was completed by 180 companies.

Walmart scored 100 percent on the 2019 index, while Amazon and Meijer each earned 90 percent. A total of 156 companies scored 80 percent or above.

“The DEI is designed to promote and advance disability inclusion practices and policies within corporate America that lead to better employment outcomes for and inclusion of people with disabilities, as employees, customers and suppliers,” explained Jill Houghton, president and CEO of Alexandria, Va.-based Disability:IN. “When businesses include people with disabilities, everybody wins.”

According to Meijer Diversity and Inclusion VP Timothy Williams, the 2019 recognition – the company’s third consecutive appearance on the index – is made even more rewarding by the significant work undertaken by the Meijer Disability Awareness & Advocacy Group (mDAAG), a Meijer team member resource group, whose mission is to advance the company’s commitment to respecting and valuing diversity and inclusion by serving as a resource and liaison for all team members on issues of equality.

“We’re incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made over the years to help Meijer team members not only find career opportunities within our company but also help them thrive,” noted Williams. “We’re leveraging the experiences of our mDAAG team members to have an impact on our business from both a team member and customer perspective.”

Seattle-based Amazon appeared on the DEI in 2018, having earned 80 percent. Walmart, a founding sponsor of the index in 2014, has earned the top score four years in a row.

Other retailers to appear on the 2019 index are Best Buy (100 percent), drug store chains CVS Health and Walgreens (both 100 percent) and Starbucks (100 percent), while CPG companies on the DEI are Procter & Gamble (100 percent), Unilever (100 percent), Colgate-Palmolive (90 percent), Johnson & Johnson (90 percent), Bayer (80 percent), Land O’Lakes (80 percent), and the Coca-Cola Co. (80 percent).

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer is a privately owned, family-operated company that operates more than 245 supercenters and grocery stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. It came in at No. 7 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States, while Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer Walmart was first on the list and Amazon, parent company of Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market, was No. 10.