A majority (82 per cent) of Canadian companies have employment and retention programs focused on, or inclusive of, people with disabilities, according to a new report by advocacy group Disability:IN.

It also found 71 per cent of U.S. employers have a requirement to ensure digital products are accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities, up from 64 per cent in 2023, while 24 per cent have company-wide disability-focused goals in place for supplier diversity and inclusion. In addition, 45 per cent said they’re publishing diversity reports that include disability data, up from 24 per cent in 2023.

Among North American companies, one in ten (11 per cent) reported having an openly disabled director on their corporate board; however, just three per cent voluntarily report on disability at the board level. Also, eight per cent of companies said they now include disability in their corporate governance charters that outline the nomination of new directors.

Read: Workers with disabilities face lack of support from employers, colleagues: survey

Outside of North America, nearly all (91 per cent) Brazilian employers reported offering short-term disability benefits to both full- and part-time employees and two-thirds (64 per cent) of U.K. companies reported having a centralized fund or budget margin for accommodations.

Notably, the internationalization of the Disability Equality Index coincides with the first major legislative mandate to integrate disability into business accountability standards for assessing businesses’ environmental and social impact, said the report. The European Union’s adoption of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is the first modernization of mandatory sustainability reporting standards to include disability.

“Expanding the Disability Equality Index internationally reflects the tremendous demand for enhanced disability inclusion and reporting in multinational markets,” said Jill Houghton, president and chief executive officer of Disability:IN, in a press release. “The index now empowers businesses around the world to drive positive change, but we still have more work to do to encourage companies to tap into the potential of the global disability community as consumers, employees and suppliers.”

Read: Employees with disabilities experienced 21.4% pay gap in 2019: Stats Can