Meg O’Connell’s journey from her early work with the deaf community in St. Augustine, Florida to founding and leading Global Disability Inclusion (GDI) as CEO is truly remarkable. Meg and her team has been instrumental in driving meaningful change for disabled people in the corporate world, addressing long-standing gaps in workplace integration. One of their standout achievements is GDI’s partnership with the retailer Michaels, which has resulted in the hiring of over 1,200 disabled employees, paired with exceptional retention rates—clearly illustrating the positive business impact of well-implemented inclusion initiatives.

Meg has also shed light on the recurring issue of disability being overlooked in workplace diversity metrics, highlighting that people with disabilities represent a substantial, yet frequently unrecognised, segment of the workforce. She advocates for the adoption of data-driven strategies and genuine shifts in organisational culture to foster real progress. Despite recent cutbacks to DEI programmes in some quarters, Meg remains hopeful, pointing to resilient advocacy efforts, the strong commitment of younger generations, and the influence of global collaboration and trailblazing initiatives at leading organisations like Microsoft and Michaels.

1. What led you into becoming a DEI and disability empowerment champion?

It just sort of happened. I grew up spending my summers in St. Augustine, FL which is also our headquarters today.  It has two additional claims to fame 1) It is the oldest city in the United States founded in 1565 – yes, young by European standards, 2) the state school for children who are deaf, and blind is located here. So, I grew up around sign language and was fascinated by it and attracted to it. In my 20’s when I was working as a teller at a bank, I began taking sign language classes in the evenings. As part of our immersion, we had to attend what was called “silent dinners” where you met up with the Deaf community and practiced your emerging sign language skills.  From this, I began having a following of Deaf customers that would drive 20-30 minutes to visit my branch when one was minutes from their home because they could talk to someone on the bank.  I immediately saw the gap in services for people with disabilities and the opportunity to appeal to a new and different consumer market.

2. Can you tell me more about Global Disability Inclusion? Why was it created and what impact has it had since?  

Great question. Like most companies, Global Disability Inclusion was born out of frustration. I had decades of experience in HR and saw what companies were doing with other diversity groups and the amount of money they were investing. People with disabilities never really got a piece of that pie.  We were always regulated to philanthropy or giving back to the community. We were not seen as a part of the broader talent strategy discussions and I wanted to change that. I knew with my HR and talent management experience, along with over a decade in management consulting I could create a firm that would help companies design strategic talent initiatives that included people with disabilities. It would not only make the more inclusive, it would make them more profitable.

3. What have been some of the Global Disability Inclusion’s most impactful projects or partnerships? How do you measure the effectiveness of these initiatives?

This one is easy.  It is our favorite project AND our favorite client. Michaels – it is a craft store in the U.S. and Canada. We are in our 5^th year working with them and they have a truly amazing team and culture. When we started with them we began in 25 stores, 8 distribution canters, and 2 manufacturing facilities – we learned a lot from that pilot year and then mapped our expansion. Each year we expanded to hundreds of stores, until this year when we will roll out to all 1400 stores in the US and Canada. They have hired over 1200 people with disabilities with an 83% retention rate.  We also instituted the “cohort model” which had managers and leaders from each year serving as mentors to the new group joining the program – so year 1 leaders mentored year 2 leaders and so on.  This enabled the organization to embed disability inclusion knowledge and practices throughout the organization and not be person or department centric as it often is in other organizations.

The success is measured by both quantitative and qualitative metrics – the number of hires, retention rate, production rate etc. The program is meeting all of those metrics. Then we also look at company culture, training and feedback and surveys from those participating in the program.

It truly is one of the projects I am most proud of in my entire career.

4. How do you define the business case for disability inclusion, and what strategies do you recommend for organisations to seek to become more disability competitive?

The business case is clear – 15% of the global population are people with disabilities, in the U.S. that number jumps to 26% of the population.

Extrapolated this means 15-20% of your employee population are people with disabilities, which means it is your largest employee population. The question is – do you have the right infrastructure and resources to support 20% of your employee population. Usually, the answer is no.  Because the majority of disabilities are invisible most organizations don’t realize their employee population is that large.

Strategies to become more disability competitive is to first, understand your numbers – conduct a self id campaign asking people to identify or participate in our award winning Amplify Survey which is the first ever disability climate and culture survey. It helps organizations understand what its like to be a person with a disability working for your company. It provides clear and actionable results on accommodations, training, resources, leadership and more. You will get a roadmap on what to do next!

It’s such a great tool and we are really proud of it.

5. What role does your work play in international advocacy for disability rights, such as your involvement with The Valuable 500 or the United States International Council on Disabilities?

We work with a lot of multinational corporations, so we want to be helpful in gathering regional and global best practices to provide the best solutions. Working with both the Valuable 500 and USICD helps us understand the shifts in the global landscape, share what we are learning and work to address global needs and trends. We work to stay abreast of the changes happening in our field and providing solutions that will work for our clients.

6. What are some key findings from the study “The State of Disability Employee Engagement”, and how have these insights shaped your work?

There are three main findings from this research:

1. When companies review workforce demographics – 90% of companies investigate gender differences, 75% race and ethnicity, but only 5% of companies  look at disability as a workplace demographic.
2. There was not one single category or question where people with disabilities rated their workplace experiences better then their colleagues without disabilities.
3. Additionally, a call to action is typically only a 5%-point difference but we see differences of 10% and 12%,  So, the largest workplace demographic is getting the least amount of attention but it has some of the largest differences.

7. In addition to the Global Disability Inclusions work that you are doing, you’re also an accomplished keynote guest speaker. Can you tell me about some of the events that you have been a guest speaker at and what impact events such as these have on your advocacy work?

Yes. These are always a lot of fun. Typically, they are educational in nature – perhaps a company is new to disability inclusion and wants to learn about why it matters, or it could be a panel discussion on trends and best practices in the space. It Is all about meeting the audience where they are and helping them take the next step in the journey. 90% of what I do is about educating people on the importance of accessibility and inclusion – one of my most important messages is that everyone has a role to play in inclusion and accessibility – it is not just the responsibility of the IT team or your facilities team. It is highly likely that everyone has a team member (or multiple team members) with a disability so how are you helping them be successful and their most productive?

8. The main DEI story in America this year has been the cuts to DEI programmes and the impact this is having. How have you seen the cuts impact on your programmes and can you provide any examples of other programmes that have had a direct negative impact due to these cuts? 

There have been some cuts for sure. But in other instances we are seeing companies double down and say they are continuing the work despite the backlash. We are also seeing private companies that are not funded by the federal government take leadership positions in inclusion and really lead by example. Demonstrating that diversity is important in our workplaces. America is a diverse country and cutting DEI programs will not change that.

9. What gives you hope for the future of DEI in America at the moment and how can those living abroad support these efforts (apart from financially?)

Despite the notable pushback—there remains steadfast commitment among many organizations, leaders, and individuals to keep DEI alive and evolving.

• The reality is the majority of corporations are still focused on diversity in the workplace they are moving away from the term DEI because it has garnered negative connotations.
• Younger generations – Gen Z in particular strongly believe in diversity programs and want to work for organizations that prioritize diverse talent.
• Peer learning – we see companies coming together to share learnings, new approaches and best practices.

And how can you help – I think most importantly it is to continue to share your learnings, continue to demonstrate to the world that diversity is good for business with clear case studies on metrics that matter to companies.  If the world continues to show these successes America will be better for it.

10. Are you big fans of any other companies, programmes or initiatives in the DEI area?

Yes!  I have two I am loving right now. 

 A. The first and likely the global leader is Microsoft. They have a steadfast commitment on inclusion, inclusive practices both in the product lines and within their culture for their employees. The repeatedly lead the way despite of any noise.

B. The second is Micahels. They are a craft store in the U.S. and Canada. They have an amazing disability hiring program called Makers Like Me.  In 2025, the program will roll out to all 1400 stores in the United States and Canada.  To date they have hired over 1,200 people with disabilities with an 83% retention rate. They have utilized the cohort model – starting with a few hundred stores and increasing the number of participating stores each year.  Each cohort is a mentor to the next, and this truly embeds the program into the organization vs. being department or person centric. Keep an eye out for them – they are doing great things