Company is one of only two education companies recognized as a best place to work
New York, NY July 13, 2021 -- Macmillan Learning, a privately-held, family-owned education publishing and services company announced today it earned a perfect score on the 2021 Disability Equality Index®, the leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide. The 100% score reflects Macmillan Learning’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion for its employees and the students who rely on the company’s course materials and educational technology for their education.
The Disability Equality Index, a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN, is a benchmarking tool that allows companies to demonstrate their commitment to disability inclusion and equality. It is modeled off the Corporate Equality Index that highlights LGBTQ-inclusive workplace policies, an index that also listed Macmillan Learning as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” this January. Globally, there are more than one billion people with disabilities.
“Supporting diversity, equity and inclusion means ensuring that students of all backgrounds and abilities have the same opportunities for an education. While we’re proud to be recognized as a best place to work, we recognize that accessibility is a journey and our work is not yet done. As the technology, standards, and platforms change, so will we,” said Susan Winslow, President, Macmillan Learning.
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. The company’s accessibility work has earned it “Gold Standard” recognition from ASPIRE and the Winner of Accessible Books Consortium’s International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing in 2020.
The company’s ebooks for the third 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. In addition to ebooks, the company’s accessibility work extends to Lab Simulations and audio descriptions that explain to the visually impaired what is happening within videos. Similar to how closed captioning helps students to understand what’s happening on the audio in a video program, an audio description is essential to understanding visual information like charts, graphs, diagrams, facial expressions, and other non-verbal cues.
“These are the kinds of advances we can make when we put our collective minds to approaching accessibility not just as a series of requirements to meet, but rather as important and interesting challenges to solve,” added Winslow.
The company continues to share best practices in accessibility for the education industry by offering an open source library of materials that were created in partnership with Tech For All. It supports accessibility within the company by focusing on recruiting and retaining employees with disabilities. To better support the hiring process, Macmillan Learning proactively includes the ability to request accommodations in emails to all candidates and has also placed the ability to request an accommodation atop its careers website. The company is also in the process of forming an employee resource group for employees with disabilities.. The company is also in the process of forming an employee resource group for employees with disabilities.
“The Disability Equality Index shines a spotlight on companies that believe they have a stake in creating a more equitable society for people with disabilities. It is a conduit for our work championing disability rights for the 60 million Americans with disabilities and knocking down barriers to employment, technology and healthcare, and we're thrilled to see the progress being made today,” said Maria Town, President and CEO of AAPD.
About Macmillan Learning
Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are highly effective and drive improved outcomes. 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 50+ 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 270 corporations trust Disability:IN to activate and achieve disability inclusion across their enterprise and in the broader corporate mainstream. Through the world’s most comprehensive disability inclusion benchmarking; best-in-class conferences and programs; and expert counsel and engagement, Disability:IN works with leading businesses to create long-term business and societal impact. Join us at disabilityin.org/AreYouIN #AreYouIN
