Ball Corporation Recognized as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion

Ball Corporation earned the distinction as a 2022 “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN. The company earned a score of 90 out of 100 on the Disability Equality Index® (DEI) which is the most comprehensive disability inclusion assessment tool measuring key performance indicators including culture and leadership, enterprise-wide access, employment practices, community engagement, supplier diversity, and non-U.S. operations. 

“We’re proud to receive this top score and will continue to create a workplace where all employees feel included because that’s core to establishing a great place to work,” said Aaron Rodzinak, Co-Lead of the Abilities Network at Ball Corporation. “We know that disability inclusion isn’t just adding people with disabilities to our company. It’s a cultural shift that prioritizes creating a space where all employees can reach their highest potential. By offering opportunities for all, our people are able to advance their careers and make a difference in our communities.”

Globally, people with disabilities represent over one billion people. Disability is a natural part of the human experience, and it crosses lines of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and religion. Through Ball’s Abilities Network, one of 17 diversity Network and Interest groups at the company, hundreds of employees come together globally to make a difference in the lives of people with visible and invisible disabilities in the workplace through providing resources to and maintaining awareness of the contributions and challenges of employees with disabilities. 

“Disability inclusion is a rapidly expanding aspect of corporate culture, and it’s gratifying to partner with 415 companies on the 2022 Disability Equality Index,” said Jill Houghton, President and CEO of Disability:IN. “These top-scoring companies not only excel in disability inclusion, many are also adopting emerging trends and pioneering measures that can move the disability agenda from accommodation to inclusion and ultimately, genuine belonging."

Ball’s Abilities Network has championed employees for years through engaging with outside organizations and implementing workplace policies that help create a culture of inclusion and belonging. 

• Ball provides application assistance to prospective job candidates who have disabilities.
• Ball’s team in the United Kingdom is a Disability Confident Committed Employer – a UK-specific distinction. It encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.  
• The company partnered with Blind Institute of Technology, an organization working to advance the professional opportunities for people with disabilities, to build a more robust path to help find talent within the disable community as well as provide training solutions for Ball team members who are hiring candidates.  
• Employees and people leaders have participated in Think Inclusively trainings which are designed to provide employees and people managers with education and techniques to support our culture of belonging.
• Ball partnered with Adaptive Adventures, the world’s largest mobile outdoor adaptive sports provider, to help plan and partake in events that are inclusive and promote disability awareness. 

Now in its eighth year, the DEI exists to help businesses make a positive impact on the unemployment and underemployment of people with disabilities.