Competitive businesses increasingly recognize the value and importance of diverse workforces, and particularly the value to be had in employing persons with disabilities.  We are pleased to provide information on two resources available to our members seeking more information on this subject.

USCIB is proud to serve on the Steering Committee of the ILO Global Business and Disability Network, comprised of multinational enterprises, employer’s organizations, business networks and disability organizations around the world who share the conviction that people with disabilities add value to workplaces.

This ILO initiative has gathered over 50 multinational enterprises and employer’s organizations and business networks from a diverse range of sectors.

The ILO Global Business and Disability Network supports its members in their disability work and facilitates business-to-business dialogue around disability issues by:

• Sharing knowledge and identifying good practices;
• Developing joint products and services; and
• Strengthening employers’ organizations and business networks through capacity building

For more information about the Network, visit www.businessanddisability.org

The second resource, offered by the Employment and Disability Institute in ILR School at Cornell University, is a free, online one-hour short course entitled Make the Strategic Case for Disability in the Workplace.  This ideo-based course features examples from well-known U.S. based companies that have made progress in including people with disabilities in their workplaces.

Find out more or register by going to:  http://info.ecornell.com/make-the-strategic-case-for-disability-in-the-workplace

As the global economy contends with several diverging forces – including strong growth in the United States, falling energy prices, and continued struggles in Europe – policy makers and global institutions are seeking to make sense of conflicting signals.

One signal on worldwide employment levels comes from the International Labor Organization’s annual “World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015” report, which covers data on employment trends and challenges. According to the report, the global employment gap continues to widen, along with income inequality.

The International Organization of Employers (IOE) believes the report paints an overly pessimistic scenario of worsening global unemployment levels, continuing inequality and falling wage shares.

USCIB’s global network, including the IOE and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, has engaged with the B20/G20 process on global labor and employment issues.

“Regarding employment and economic growth, the challenges faced by individual countries are subject to wide variations,” the IOE said in a statement. “Generalizations are unhelpful and tend to mask growth divergences across economies, which may engender misleading policy responses that treat cyclical dimensions rather than addressing longstanding and structural rigidities.”

The IOE also noted it is important “to diminish the progress made thus far in terms of income inequalities,” and that “perceptions of rising inequality should not be confused with the reality.”

The statement concluded with a call to action:

“Much more can nonetheless be achieved in terms of addressing the challenges linked to employment, inequalities and economic growth. A more ambitious effort needs to be made on skills mismatch through better tailored education and skills training. This would address global inequalities more efficiently and create an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises to foster job creation.”