Anglo American announces its membership of The Valuable 500, a worldwide movement to put disability inclusion on board agendas and encourage global business leaders to recognise the value of the world’s 1.3 billion people living with disabilities. Launched at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Summit this year, The Valuable 500 now has more than 200 members.
Anglo American Chief Executive, Mark Cutifani, commented: “Our people are critical to all that we do and we strive to promote an inclusive culture with equality of opportunity for all – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or disability – enabling us to appoint the right person to the right role, so that everyone can bring their full self to work.
“We’re proud of our already diverse workforce and the progress made in the last 18 months to become a more inclusive organisation, but recognise we have much more to do. Through our commitment to The Valuable 500, we look forward to working with the organisation and its community of members to do more to put disability on the business leadership agenda.”
As part of The Valuable 500 commitment, Anglo American will continue to foster an environment which involves, supports and enables colleagues living with a physical disability, learning difficulty or mental health issue to reach their full potential. The company’s Enabling You colleague networks, which were launched in 2018, continue to provide education and awareness, extending support to those colleagues who also care for someone living with a disability.
Anglo American will continue to implement its global mental health framework to increase mental health awareness, support colleagues, remove any stigma, and encourage openness to build and sustain a safe and positive workplace, with 5% of global colleagues being trained mental health first aiders by the end of 2020.
Earlier this year, Anglo American was recognised by the UK Department of Work and Pensions as a Disability Confident Employer, reflecting the efforts made in this area through a partnership with the Business Disability Forum, providing a focus on ensuring all colleagues, and especially those in leadership positions, have the skills and knowledge they need to be inclusive of people with disabilities.
Caroline Casey, Founder of The Valuable 500, commented: “Anglo American has already made great strides in ensuring disability inclusion is on its board agenda, particularly in mental health. It is fantastic they are now committing to The Valuable 500 and taking further steps towards full inclusion.
“Businesses worldwide are missing out on a $8 trillion market opportunity through failing to include the disabled community, and we encourage more businesses to take note and put this crucial issue on their board agendas.”