Macmillan Learning, a privately-held, family-owned education publishing and services company announced today it was named a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” on the Disability Equality Index®, the leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide. This is the third consecutive year the company has earned the top score of 100, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion not only for its employees but also for the students who rely on their course materials and educational technology.
Disability is a natural part of the human experience, and is represented by over one billion people globally. The Disability Equality Index is a benchmarking tool developed by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN to allow companies to demonstrate their commitment to disability inclusion and equality. The 2023 DEI measured companies’ inclusion efforts spanning categories that included: culture & leadership, employment practices like benefits, and recruitment, community engagement, and supplier diversity.
“As an employer and educational publisher it’s critical that we do more than just recognize and celebrate diversity. Learning materials are a reflection of the voices that are included in the process of creating and revising them, and we take care to ensure that every student can recognize themselves in them,” said Kristin Peikert, Head of People and Culture at Macmillan Learning. “Our different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives can only foster innovation if there’s a seat at the table for those voices to be heard.”
Course Material Accessibility
Macmillan Learning views accessibility for its educational technology and course materials through two different lenses. In the first, the company works towards creating equitable student learning experiences and in the next, it aims to meet or exceed industry-accepted standards. To that end, in 2023, Macmillan Learning launched a new set of guiding principles for accessibility. The principles were developed collaboratively within the company to guide the company on its accessibility journey for both its customer-facing products and our internal tools.
The company’s accessibility work has earned it “Gold Standard” recognition from ASPIRE and earned Accessible Books Consortium’s International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing award in 2020. Additionally, the company’s e-books for the fifth consecutive year were recognized as Global Certified Accessible by Benetech. This means that Macmillan Learning provides “born accessible” digital learning options that ensure that all students have the same access to information. The company continues to add new features each year to make its products both more accessible as well as improve on its overall design. This year, a number of new features were added to the company’s Writing Tools to make highlighting and feedback more accessible to students with disabilities.
“While we’re pleased to have been recognized as a top-scoring company, we understand the journey we’re on to support inclusion is ongoing, and seek to discover even more ways to help our employees feel included,” Peikert added.
To enhance awareness of how accessibility impacts learners the company launched accessibility training opportunities for all employees. Additionally, the company’s disability-focused employee resource group, AVID (Awareness of Visible and Invisible Disabilities) continues to expand and flourish, with opportunities for both engagement and leadership for company employees.
“These top-scoring companies understand deeply that people with disabilities represent a tremendous source of talent and innovation for their workforce and market share for their brands, and they are trailblazers in our journey towards full disability inclusion in business,” said Maria Town, President and CEO of AAPD.
About Macmillan Learning
Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned company that inspires what’s possible for every learner. We envision a world in which every learner succeeds. Through our content, tools and services, we aim to make that a reality. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or join our Macmillan Community.
About the Disability Equality Index®
The Disability Equality Index (DEI) is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions that they can take to achieve disability inclusion and equality. Each company receives a score, on a scale of zero (0) to 100, with those earning 80 and above recognized as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion”.
The DEI is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the nation’s largest disability rights organization, and Disability:IN, the global business disability inclusion network, to collectively advance the inclusion of people with disabilities. The organizations are complementary and bring unique strengths that make the project relevant and credible to corporations and the disability community. The tool was developed by the DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts, and disability advocates. Learn more at: www.DisabilityEqualityIndex.org.
About the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
AAPD is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power for people with disabilities. As a national cross-disability rights organization AAPD advocates for full civil rights for the 60+ million Americans with disabilities. Learn more at: www.aapd.com.
About Disability:IN®
Disability:IN is a global organization driving disability inclusion and equality in business. More than 400 corporations partner with Disability:IN to create long-term business and social impact through the world’s most comprehensive disability inclusion benchmarking and reporting tool, the Disability Equality Index (DEI); best-in-class conferences and programs; expert counsel and engagement; and public policy leadership. Join us at disabilityin.org/AreYouIN #AreYouIN.
