American Airlines Earns Top Score of 100 on Disability Equality Index

Image: Woman in wheelchair. (Photo via Creatas / Getty Images Plus / Creatas)
Image: Woman in wheelchair. (Photo via Creatas / Getty Images Plus / Creatas)
Rich Thomaselli
by Rich Thomaselli
Last updated: 12:45 AM ET, Thu July 15, 2021

American Airlines has once again distinguished itself in how it caters to employees with disabilities.

For the sixth year in a row, American received a top score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index (DEI) and was named one of the best places to work for disability inclusion in 2021.

"At American Airlines, we have a mission to care for all people on life's journey and that starts with our team members," Vice President of Global People Operations and Diversity & Inclusion Cedric Rockamore said in a statement. "We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where people of all abilities feel welcomed and respected across our global organization. American is incredibly proud of this achievement because the recognition acknowledges the airline's continued work to build an inclusive workplace for all employees."

The DEI was launched in 2015 by Disability:IN and The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). Today, the DEI is generally acknowledged as the most robust disability inclusion assessment tool in business.

Those with disabilities represent more than 1 billion people worldwide across all lines of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and religion.

The DEI was created by the DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts and disability advocates. The DEI examines the practices and procedures companies are implementing in the following categories to select the top scorers: Culture & Leadership; Enterprise-wide Access; Employment Practices (Benefits, Recruitment, Employment, Education, Retention & Advancement, Accommodations); Community Engagement; Supplier Diversity; Non-U.S. Operations.


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Rich Thomaselli

Rich Thomaselli

Associate Writer

Editor Associate Writer true 9281 14744 Rich Thomaselli has written for TravelPulse since 2014 and has been a professional journalist for nearly 40 years. His work has appeared in USA Today, the New York Times and New York Yankees publications. He is an 11-time writ

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