2025 Book Edited by Dr. Fitore Hyseni, BBI Director of Research, and DEP colleagues, Explores Disability and the Future of Work

2025 Book Edited by Dr. Fitore Hyseni, BBI Director of Research, and DEP colleagues, Explores Disability and the Future of Work

Emerald Publishing Limited has announced the release of Disability and the Future of Work, a groundbreaking edited volume that examines how disability intersects with the rapidly changing world of work. Edited by DEP investigators—Fitore Hyseni, Lisa Schur, Douglas Kruse, and Peter Blanck—the book brings together leading scholars and practitioners to explore how technological, economic, and policy transformations are reshaping employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Continue Reading

New Report Prepared for Syracuse University’s Lender Center for Social Justice – Disability as a Critical Element in Exploring the Racial Wealth Gap

This report examines the racial wealth gap for people with disabilities in the United States. While the racial wealth gap is well-documented, with the median White household having a net worth 7-10 times higher than the median Black household, the wealth gap experienced by people with disabilities remains less explored. Recent data show that households without disabilities possess, on average, 6 times the net worth of households led by a working-age person with a disability. Wealth, defined as total household assets minus total liabilities, is a comprehensive measure of economic well-being and social stratification, and it has wide implications, including for personal security and long-term health and well-being. For people with disabilities, wealth has an added dimension, as additional costs associated with living with a disability reduce the amount individuals can save over their lifetime.
Continue Reading

New Research Brief – Lingering Inequalities in the Information Age: An Examination of Disparities in Internet Access Among People with Disabilities

When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990, the internet was in its infancy. We could not imagine how technology would change the way we interact with government services, our employer, our doctor, or the way we shop. However, the “information age” comes with structural barriers for people with disabilities. These barriers include inaccessible web sites, a lack of reliable internet connectivity, and high prices for internet service. Continue Reading

New Publication – BBI’s Senior Director for Law and Policy Jonathan Martinis featured in an article by the ABA today. Addressing the School-to-Guardianship Pipeline

Approximately 1.5 million adults are under active guardianship or conservatorship, according to Bloomberg Law. An unknown number of these adults are young adults with disabilities, often intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD). These young adults are often funneled into guardianship by what the National Council on Disability (NCD) in its 2018 report called the “school-to-guardianship pipeline,” a phenomenon where schools are, by default, recommending to parents that they start the process of assuming guardianship over their disabled child before they become an adult. Continue Reading

New Research Brief – Exploring Disparities in Poverty Rates Among People with Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990 to promote, among other goals, economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. Nevertheless, many people with disabilities do not achieve this goal. In fact, people with disabilities and other underserved groups are disproportionately affected by poverty. Research shows that having a disability results in a higher risk of experiencing poverty. Underlying explanations point to people with disabilities not only having fewer opportunities for well-paying jobs, but also having extra costs associated with their disabilities, including medical treatment, care, housing, and transportation. Despite this well-established link between poverty and disability, the relationship between these factors and other characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and gender, remains understudied. Continue Reading

New Research Brief – Dismantling Barriers: How Disability, Race, and Other Characteristics Influence Employment Outcomes

Because understanding intersectionality is critical in creating inclusive and effective policies and practices that reach all people with disabilities, we at the Southeast ADA Center are undertaking a four-part research project to identify the ways in which multiple forms of discrimination can intersect and compound and lead to disparate ADA-related outcomes. Continue Reading

Disability Inclusion in Corporate Supplier Diversity Initiatives

Author(s): Nanette Goodman, Fatma Altunkol Wise, Fitore Hyseni, Lauren Gilbert, & Peter Blanck
Citation:

Goodman, N., Wise, F. A., Hyseni, F., Gilbert, L., & Blanck, P. (2024). Disability Inclusion in Corporate Supplier Diversity Initiatives. Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 10.1007/s10926-024-10190-2. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-024-10190-2


Download Publication
Visit Website
Overview:

Purpose: Since the 1960s, federal and state governments and private-sector companies have used supplier diversity initiatives to ensure their supply chains include businesses owned by traditionally economically disadvantaged or underrepresented groups. Originally concentrated on racial and ethnic minority groups, programs have expanded to include businesses owned by women, veterans, LGBTQ+ individuals, and, in some cases, people with disabilities. This study investigates the extent to which disability is included in supplier diversity initiatives of Fortune 500 companies.

Methods: This paper uses a novel data set created by the authors with information on supplier diversity initiatives and Disability, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements in Fortune 500 companies extracted from public sources. This information is combined with data from Compustat, a corporate financial database published by Standard and Poor’s and additional variables from other sources.

Results: 75% of the Fortune 500 companies have supplier diversity programs that express a commitment to diversity yet only 49% of those with such programs include disability-owned businesses (38% of all Fortune 500 companies). Among the largest 100 companies, 89% had supplier diversity programs that included disability, almost 6 times the rate Ball et al. reported in 2005. This study finds disability inclusion varies significantly by company size, industry, and whether the company is a government contractor.

Conclusion: Despite the growth in disability inclusion, the absence of disability as a diversity category in regulations mandating supplier diversity initiatives for government contractors impacts disability inclusion. If we want to align our supplier diversity programs with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the first step is to address the issue in the Small Business Administration and federal contracting requirements.


Keywords: Corporate social responsibility#Disability inclusion#Disability-owned businesses#Supplier diversity

Giuseppe Pagano

Giuseppe Franco “Joey” Pagano is a research assistant at the Burton Blatt Institute, contributing in a variety of ways. A writer by nature, he works across projects, assisting with knowledge translation efforts, managing social media accounts, developing research and policy briefs, contributing to academic papers, and more. With a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in education and disability studies, he seeks to combine his skills, knowledge and experience to help address barriers to employment, education and full economic and social equity facing those with disabilities.

Peter Blanck

Dr. Blanck is University Professor at Syracuse University, which is the highest faculty rank, granted to eight prior individuals in the history of the University. He is Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.

Blanck holds appointments at the Syracuse University Colleges of Law, and Arts and Sciences, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, School of Education, and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Prior to his appointment at Syracuse, Blanck was Kierscht Professor of Law and director of the Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center at the University of Iowa. Blanck is Honorary Professor, Centre for Disability Law & Policy, at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Blanck received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester, a Juris Doctor from Stanford University, where he was President of the Stanford Law Review, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Harvard University.

Blanck has written articles and books on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws, and received grants to study disability law and policy. Blanck is Chairman of the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC), and former President of Raising the Floor (RtF) USA. He is a former member of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, a former Senior Fellow of the Annenberg Washington Program, a former Fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, and has been a Mary Switzer Scholar. Prior to teaching, Blanck practiced law at the Washington, DC firm Covington & Burling, and served as law clerk to the late Honorable Carl McGowan of the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

Blanck’s books include:

Publications

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1980 – 1996

Legal Brief Participation