Why businesses must take action on disability inclusion by 2025

This International Day of Persons with Disabilities represents a watershed moment for the business world.

In exactly one year, SYNC25 – the world’s first accountability summit on disability inclusion – will gather 500 of the world’s largest companies to answer a fundamental question: what tangible actions have you taken to transform disability inclusion across your entire business?

While many Valuable 500 companies and partners have made progress on their disability inclusion commitments, the uncomfortable truth is that most businesses aren’t ready for this conversation.

The evidence is stark: of the 50 major Christmas advertising campaigns released this year, only three (6%) feature any visible disability representation.

Even then, disabled people are relegated to background roles and a fleeting glimpse. This is disappointing but shouldn’t be a surprise.

The Valuable 500's authentic representation white paper, published earlier this year, found that up to 98% of disabled consumers feel that their experiences are not consistently and accurately represented in current media and marketing narratives.

For marketers, this puts into sobering terms the scale of missed opportunity and systemic failure to meet. We’re not just missing the mark on representation – we’re failing to engage with a community that represents 1.3 billion people and controls over $18 trillion in annual spending power.

Authentic representation goes far beyond including wheelchair users in an advert’s background. A high proportion of disabilities are invisible – a longstanding estimate is 80% – authentic representation demands a fundamental shift in how we think about disability in media and marketing.

It means showcasing the full spectrum of disabilities – visible and invisible, physical and cognitive, permanent and temporary. Most importantly, it means ensuring disabled voices lead these conversations in front of and behind the camera.

We’re seeing encouraging signs of change. Generation Z is increasingly open about neurodiversity and rising diagnosis rates reflect growing awareness and acceptance.

However, this openness must be matched with action. Authentic representation isn’t just about what audiences see – it’s about who makes the decisions, tells the stories and shapes the narratives.

To help businesses bridge this gap, we’re launching our Authentic Representation Tool (ART) in 2025 – developed in partnership with Kearney and co-designed with the disability community.

This would be the first framework to help companies evaluate and improve their disability representation across three key areas: authentic narratives, accurate representation and accessible experiences.

Our goal is to provide businesses with a clear starting point and pathway for improvement wherever they are on their inclusion journey. But while ART offers a practical maturity model for representation, business leaders must recognize that disability inclusion is a complex challenge requiring a nuanced and holistic approach.

Exclusion is the symptom of three interconnected challenges requiring synchronized collective action.

Our recent white paper on disability-inclusive leadership found that only 3% of c-suite leaders disclose their disability or caregiving responsibilities.

In boardrooms today, the question is no longer, “Should we prioritize disability leadership?” It is: “Will we still be relevant if we don’t?” Without disabled voices in decision-making positions, how can we expect authentic storytelling or inclusive product design?

Our Generation Valuable mentoring programme shows how reverse mentoring between senior executives and disabled talent transforms individuals and organizations.

These leaders are proving that disability-inclusive leadership isn’t just about doing good – it’s about driving innovation, enhancing talent retention and deepening market understanding. But these transformative experiences need to happen at scale.

Second, it’s a reporting challenge. Companies can’t track their progress or identify gaps without robust data and accountability metrics. Our research shows that only 22% of Valuable 500 companies publicly disclose workforce representation data and even then, the reported percentages vary wildly from 0.07% to 62.5%.

Without standardized, publicly disclosed data, it becomes nearly impossible for stakeholders to measure progress or drive meaningful change.

This lack of consistent reporting criteria makes comparisons between organizations extremely challenging and disability inclusion rarely features in the materiality assessments that determine business priorities.

Third, it’s a representation crisis that extends far beyond advertising. From product design to workplace culture, from customer experience to supply chains, the disability community remains systematically excluded from every aspect of business.

Our research shows that over 90% of disabled consumers believe brands should ensure communications are accessible and reflect disability accurately, yet 56% regularly encounter inaccessible communications across all media.

The disability community is increasingly calling for the traditional “Nothing About Us Without Us” mantra to evolve into simply “Nothing Without Us.”

This isn’t semantic – it’s a fundamental shift in our thinking about disability inclusion. Disability is not a niche group to be consulted – it touches almost all of our lives and we could join this community at any time.

True transformation can only come when we recognize disability inclusion as fundamental to business success, not an optional add-on.

When these three elements are addressed, we will begin to see real transformation. Companies with strong disability leadership naturally prioritize better reporting, which leads to more authentic representation. Better representation attracts more disabled talent to leadership positions, creating a virtuous circle of inclusion and innovation.

This is precisely why SYNC25 will be a defining moment for global business. It will bring together 500 of the world’s largest companies for the first time to demonstrate tangible progress across leadership, reporting and representation. There can be no more delays or excuses.

The next 12 months will determine whether your organization helps lead this transformation or gets left behind. Our three recommendations for synchronized collective action provide the framework for action and tools like ART provide the roadmap. What we need now is leadership brave enough to step forward.

By December 2025, it will be clear who chose to be pioneers in disability inclusion and who was left behind.

SYNC25 isn’t just another corporate initiative – it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally transform how businesses think about, engage with and benefit from disability inclusion.

The frameworks exist, the business case is clear and the time for action is now.