Top 10 disability-friendly companies from Diversity Inc.

From Diversity Inc.:

What makes a company a great place to work for people with disabilities? An inclusive culture that values people and allows them to be open about who they are. A workplace that accommodates people's needs so they can maximize their talent and skills. A marketplace that reaches out to people with disabilities and values them as customers.

Methodology: To determine this list, we relied on answers to The 2009 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® survey, specifically: questions on having active recruitment programs for people with disabilities; having a strong employee-resource group for people with disabilities; and having certain work/life benefits, such as flex time, telecommuting, caregiver assistance, and leaves of absence. We also looked at the web sites of the companies to see what content/images they have about people with disabilities.

Here are The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities with a reason why each one made the list.

No. 1: IBM Corp., No. 10 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also No. 2 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity; No. 4 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans; No. 4 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees; No. 2 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Global Diversity Companies

IBM has been at the forefront of hiring, retaining and promoting employees with disabilities and is expanding its efforts globally. The company also has been the most outspoken opponent of genetic testing for employees and has been clear and vocal in its values-driven mission.

No. 2: Ernst & Young, No. 3 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also No. 1 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees

The firm has a world-class AccessAbilities employee-resource group that is "charged with helping the firm unleash the full abilities of all our people," according to Ernst & Young. Its members meet monthly through a conference call and have Abilities Champions who make sure disabilities-awareness messages and educational material are part of communications, meetings and events. About two-thirds of AccessAbilities members do not have disabilities themselves.

No. 3: Cisco Systems, one of DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies. Also No. 4 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Global Diversity Companies and No. 9 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees

Cisco provides excellent benefits for people with disabilities and for employees who are caring for people with disabilities, including an onsite health center, an onsite pharmacy, healthcare incentives, job sharing and alternative career tracks for people with long-term family-care issues.

No. 4: Procter & Gamble, No. 11 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also No. 7 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Latinos and No. 3 in The DiversityInc Top Global Diversity Companies

The company's People With Disabilities Task Force is a national leader in accessibility in workplace accommodations, recruitment, retention, training and partnerships with organizations such as Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD).

No. 5: Kaiser Permanente, No. 7 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also No. 7 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Executive Women and No. 1 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Latinos

With the help of its strong Persons With Disabilities employee-resource group, Kaiser Permanente is a national leader in culturally competent healthcare and in workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities.

No. 6: SC Johnson, No. 46 in the DiversityInc Top 50

The company has first-rate employee-resource groups, including Abilities First Business Council, Elder Care Giver Support Group and Parents of Special Needs Children Support Group. The Johnson Abilities First Business Council was established in 1995 as a support group for people dealing with disabilities in the workplace and now is a key advisory group that helps the company meet its business objectives.

No. 7: Aetna, No. 48 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also No. 5 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees

Aetna's new AetnAbilities employee-resource group is proving a strong and valuable asset. The company also has a Caregiver group and is an advocate for ending cultural disparities in healthcare.

No. 8: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, No. 39 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also No. 3 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Executive Women

The company has excellent benefits for people with disabilities, including sign-language courses and work/life counselors. Philanthropic donations include to the New York School for the Deaf.

No. 9: Sodexo, No. 6 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also No. 3 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention; No. 3 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for African Americans; No. 2 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Latinos; No. 1 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Executive Women; No. 7 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees

The company's employee-resource group for people with disabilities, Sodexo Organization for disAbilities Resources (SOAR), helped create a self-paced and interactive e-learning module on disability awareness for employees. SOAR spearheaded events and webinars with the National Organization on Disability to recognize and promote National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

No. 10: KPMG, No. 21 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also No. 6 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees

The Big Four firm has first-rate benefits, including shared leave, shared backup care, flexible hours and job sharing. The company's Disability Network (employee-resource group) provides guidance on and raises awareness of workplace issues that affect KPMG partners and employees who have a disability or who have a child or other dependent with disabilities.