Global business collective, The Valuable 500, has announced that it has reached its goal of 500 international organisations committing to put disability inclusion on their board agenda, making it the world’s biggest CEO collective for disability inclusion.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is among some of the most recognisable businesses that have joined the campaign for inclusion since The Valuable 500 was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at Davos in 2019. The membership includes 36 of the FTSE 100 companies, 46 of the Fortune 500 and 28 of the Nikkei. All members of The Valuable 500 have made a public commitment to advancing disability inclusion within their organisations.

The global business collective has also launched the second phase of its campaign, which will see its members work together to make change happen for disability inclusion in business. The Valuable 500 has also received the largest ever investment in disability business inclusion, with The Nippon Foundation investing $5 million to catalyse new Valuable 500 initiatives.

As part of the second phase, 13 iconic leaders will co-fund, co-build and co-test the programmes and solutions, using their industry experience to help catalyse progress for the entire community. These leaders include Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Allianz, BBC, Deloitte, EY, Google, LSEG, Omnicom, P&G, Salesforce, Sony, Sky and Verizon. The CEOs of all of these companies are committed to working together to lead by example and transform the business system for disability inclusion.

Caroline Casey, Founder of The Valuable 500, commented, “Today, we have broken the leadership silence on disability inclusion and put this on the business leadership agenda. We have now built this unique community and are launching phase two. For me, the collective activation and innovation of this community for systemic business change has been a lifetime ambition. With the scale of The Valuable 500, change is possible because now we have the scale, the perfect time and the multiplier effect of this critical mass — it’s all about intention.”

Paul Polman, Chairman of The Valuable 500 and former CEO of Unilever, commented, “I am delighted to be part of The Valuable 500 as we hit this important goal. Since the launch of #Valuable at One Young World in Bogota in 2017 and the inception of The Valuable 500 at Davos in 2019, the campaign’s ambitious goal to fundamentally transform the global business system and fight for an equal and inclusive society has made incredible progress. I am proud to have been part of the journey from the beginning and continue to play a role as the campaign enters phase two.”

Dr Anish Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Group, said, “A strong workplace welcomes diversity of talent, ideas and opinions, and celebrates the uniqueness of every individual, enabling them to Rise. It is our privilege to be a part of The Valuable 500 as it focuses on putting disability on the boardroom agenda and will help gather the momentum to unlock the hidden potential of a largely untapped community. Mahindra Group is committed to disability inclusion, and my hope for the future is to imbibe ‘ability and disability diversity’, building and nurturing capabilities without any bias and becoming truly inclusive.”