Monthly Newsletter
Member Spotlights
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, American Family Insurance has been serving customers since 1927. American Family Insurance inspires, protects and restores dreams through its insurance products, exceptional service from our agency owners and employees, community investment and strategic partnerships to address societal challenges.

American Family Insurance demonstrates its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by constantly evolving to meet customer, employee, and community needs and preferences. In late 2018 they officially launched the Abilities Business Resource Group (BRG). Its nine BRGs each provide employees who have shared characteristics, life experiences, interests, and backgrounds a forum to directly impact our Inclusive Excellence Strategy and enhance an inclusive culture while also assisting with relevant business decisions and practices. They strengthen the Enterprise by uncovering innovative opportunities to support efforts like; attracting diverse talent, exceeding customer expectations, positively impacting their communities and enhancing the overall employee experience. Follow link to Read More.
Mind Shift is an organization that assesses, trains, and hires high functioning individuals on the autism spectrum. Our expertise ranges from data analytics and software development, to quality control and light industrial positions.

Mind Shift's D&I initiatives are more external than internal. Our mission is to employ individuals on the autism spectrum, so our internal D&I initiatives are woven into our mission. Externally, we measure success by the extent that we are able to employ more people on the spectrum and place them in roles at organizations looking not only to meet their internal D&I initiatives, but also their strategic growth plans. We believe that contracting with Mind Shift is not only doing good, but it is also a good business decision, and we have the historical data to prove that. Follow link to Read More.
Disability: IN Wisconsin Events
Wisconsin Ability Summit 2020
Achieving Positive Business Outcomes through Disability Inclusion and Equity 
October 20, 22, 27 & 29
Sponsored by
Disability:IN Wisconsin and Disability:IN Chicagoland are pleased to announce their partnership for an online event series in October. With the cancellation of in-person events this year, the two affiliates are coming together to collaborate on programs celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). Disability:IN Wisconsin’s annual Ability Summit and Disability:IN Chicagoland’s annual Disability Inclusion Opportunity Summit will now be held virtually on Tuesdays and Thursdays in October from 11:00am – 12:00pm Central. Each affiliate will host 4 hour-long online programs, with registration discounts available to one another’s current members. Session topics include:
  • Supporting workplace mental health;
  • Disability supplier diversity;
  • Talent acquisition & recruiting through a NextGen lens;
  • Leaning into the Disability Equality Index & its long term benefits;
  • The intersection of racial equity & disability inclusion;
  • Increasing E/BRG collaboration by understanding the power of identity: as an ally, as a person with a disability, as a caregiver, and as member of various demographic identities
  • Recruiting & accommodating neurodiverse workers
  • Transitioning the workplace into a ‘new normal’ during the COVID-19 pandemic: supporting the physical and mental health of your workforce through accessibility and accommodations.
Resources

The Disability Equality Index (DEI) is a unique, joint initiative of Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). It serves as the most comprehensive benchmarking tool for disability inclusion, allowing America’s leading corporations to self-report their disability policies and practices. This evolving index objectively scores each corporation on a scale from 0 to 100—100 representing the most inclusive. The DEI was developed by the two national leaders in consultation with the appointed DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse and voluntary group of experts in business, policy, and disability advocacy.
For more information about the DEI

DEI Registration is Open
Key Dates and Timeline
  • July 14, 2020: 2021 DEI Registration opened
  • January 29, 2021: 2021 DEI Registration Closes
  • February 1, 2021: Registered companies receive access to the benchmark
  • April 9, 2021: Final company benchmark responses due
  • June 2021: DEI benchmark scores finalized
  • July 15, 2021: Top-scoring companies (score of 80 or above) announced and DEI Report available.