Inclusive Workplaces
Today, the how, when, and where people work continues to evolve rapidly. Workplaces are transforming as well. To meet this pace of change, workplaces of the future must engender greater creative collaboration, an increased focus on well-being, and opportunities to be connected in more than one place simultaneously, including hybrid workplaces. Indeed, the COVID-19 global pandemic has become an accelerant for workplace transformations. At no other time in history has there been a need to merge the virtues of technology with the talents of employees in a manner that is adaptable, human-centered, and inclusive. However, today it is not clear whether, to what extent, and how often accessibility and inclusion are built into the design and implementation of leading-edge workplaces. Workplaces of the future must be compelling destinations where every team member can contribute, not despite their unique identities – but because of them.
G3ict and Steelcase have partnered to convene global experts and create a Blueprint for Inclusive Workplaces of the Future.
This work challenges the current state of practice and creates a vision for the future. The Blueprint provides key stakeholders with valuable insights for designing and implementing workplaces that are not only safe and compelling, but also inclusive across different dimensions of diversity with a focus on persons with disabilities.
To achieve this objective, G3ict and Steelcase engaged global leaders from multiple domains, e.g., human resource professionals, architecture and design firms, technologists, disabled persons organizations, private sector employers, property managers, policy makers, and others. Each group presented perspectives on how to achieve safe, compelling, and inclusive workplaces of the future across diverse cultural contexts. As part of this initiative, experts participated in facilitated co-design sessions to map the most important concepts, stakeholder needs, and key actions that will result in workplaces of the future that are more inclusive of persons with disabilities. Together, these experts will consider how diversity and design can converge to inform the evolution of hybrid workplaces.
The G3ict and Steelcase Blueprint will help advocates and practitioners build greater awareness, knowledge, and comfort with key principles of more inclusive workplaces of the future. It presents good practices for mainstreaming accessibility into both the design of spaces and the digital transformation of work. The Blueprint will support employers of all types and in all regions of the world in the design of inclusive workplaces that address both business and process goals as well as usability and accessibility objectives. Importantly, the Blueprint will inform the development of needed trainings, tools, and indices to support inclusion as core to a range of work environments.
Steelcase and G3ict, through both its Global Policy Center and International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), have convened an Inclusive Workplaces Taskforce to explore and define how a global community of committed organizations and individuals might, together, drive greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in places of work around the world.
Steelcase and G3ict, through both its Global Policy Center and International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), have convened an Inclusive Workplaces Taskforce (IWTF) to explore and define how a global community of committed organizations and individuals might, together, drive greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in places of work around the world.
Taskforce Report: Inclusive Workplace Community of Interest report summarizes the work of the IWTF and presents a set of challenges and opportunities related to how global communities of practice are and can be playing a role in supporting increasingly inclusive workplaces, including for persons with disabilities around the world.
If you have any question regarding the project, please contact us at workplaces@g3ict.org.
Events
- April 28, 2022: Roundtable on Procurement for More Inclusive Workplaces. European Inclusive Procurement Discussion Series | Watch the event proceeding on YouTube (Roundtable on Procurement)
- February 24, 2022: Roundtable on Blueprint on Inclusive Workplaces of the Future. Key Roles and Good Practices | Watch the event proceeding on YouTube (Roundtable on Blueprint)