Twenty Years ago, Northwest Airlines organized the first meeting of leaders from large companies in Minnesota to launch what has become Disability:IN Minnesota. At the time, there was a 2.9% unemployment rate in Minnesota (Source: A Founder’s Vision) yet the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities was 70% nationally.
The executive breakfast included key leaders from across the Twin Cities with the purpose of organizing a business led endeavor to advance access and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. We recognized hiring people with disabilities made good business sense but we were concerned with the disconnect: people with disabilities have faced barriers in the workplace even after the enactment of the ADA.
The idea conceived was a simple concept: bring together employers and create an organization that would help businesses recruit and hire talented labor while addressing the high unemployment rate of people with disabilities in the communities they serve. Little did we realize that first effort would culminate in the fine organization we now commemorate for twenty years of providing Minnesota employers with resources and best practices to hire an untapped pool of qualified candidates – people with disabilities.
Here is to many more decades of success for Disability:IN Minnesota.