by Jordyn Hronec and Nathan Rubbelke, St. Louis Business Journal
Several of St. Louis' largest brands have been spotlighted as top work places for those with disabilities.
Among the local firms recognized in the 2022 Disability Equality Index, a disability inclusion benchmarking and reporting tool created and released by Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities, are Ameren, Centene Corp., Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and World Wide Technology. A couple of companies that aren't headquartered in St. Louis, but that have significant operations in the region, also made the list. They include Bayer, which has its North America crop science division headquartered in Creve Coeur, and Boeing, which employs nearly 15,000 workers at plants in the St. Louis region through its Defense, Space and Security unit.
The index assesses company performance as it pertains to inclusion of employees with disabilities and accessibility in six different categories: Culture and leadership, enterprise wide accessibility, employment practices, community engagement, supplier diversity and non-U.S. operations. The index assigns each participating company a score from 0 to 100 based on how well each company commits to and demonstrates inclusion of those with disabilities, based on both foundational best practices and emerging trends. Companies that score 80 or higher are named to the "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" list.
