ActionAble

When we shift from disability to ability, we unlock talent, innovation and better outcomes. Most organisations agree with this. Very few are operating like they believe it. Because inclusion is still treated as an initiative… instead of what it really is: 👉 A growth lever. The Disability Dividend (ActionAble x EY), led by Leigh Smyth FRSA & Sara Weller, makes it explicit: 📊 1 in 4 customers 📊 10M people in the UK 📊 +28% revenue for leaders What stood out from leaders actually doing it: 👉 HSBC Carolanne Minashi Global Head of Inclusion “Inclusion turns diversity into impact.” 👉 Santander David Oldfield OBE , Non-Executive Director, “Show me, don’t tell me , progress comes from action.” 👉 Legal & General Katie Worgan Group COO “Build and socialise the commercial case.” 👉 Ernst & Young James Tufts Partner “Use data, governance and leadership to drive outcomes.” 👉 BT Group Sara Weller CBE NED Co-Founder, Actionable “Clear ownership moves intent to impact.” The pattern is clear: Treat inclusion like any core business programme. • Targets • Data • Accountability • Leadership ownership As Sara Weller put it: “Evidence matters, link leadership behaviour to real results.” And the risk now? AI will scale whatever we build. If inclusion isn’t designed in…… 👉 we industrialise exclusion. Built in. Not bolted on. Ability isn’t a constraint. It’s an opportunity most organisations haven’t priced in yet. Great session with orgs who are Sara Weller, Carolanne Minashi, David Oldfield, Katie Worgan and James Tufts expertly hosted by Leigh Smyth. ImpactMatch #Leadership #InclusionByDesign #Growth #AI #FinancialServices Jason Daniels Brónach McCartney

Inclusion by design … Make “Built In, Not Bolted On” Excellent ActionAble/ EY webinar discussing the “so whats” of The Disability Dividend: Unlocking Growth in UK Financial Services report with an excellent of Speakers: • Sara Weller CBE , Co-Founder, ActionAble • James Tufts, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP • Carolanne Minashi, Global Head of Inclusion, HSBC • David Oldfield OBE, Non-Executive Director, Santander • Katie Worgan, Group COO, L&G – Asset Management Expertly and inclusively managed by Leigh Smyth FRSA, CEO ActionAble - thanks for the invite and bravo to the signers 🙌 My takeaways ➡️ Why inclusion/the report matters … ➡️ it’s both the right thing to do and there’s a ➡️massive #Commercial_Imperative, see the report. 🫱🏻🫲🏾 Disability now affects up to one in four customers and one in six colleagues, yet many Boards still lack the data and business case needed to act ➡️ as AI4C* community member AbilityNet reminds us, 10m in the UK have a disability (superpower), that’s a huge addressable market ⬆️💷 Commercial Imperative: Research shows that companies leading in disability inclusion achieve 28% higher revenue and double the net income of their peers. The report introduces the Disability Dividend Framework, centred on four drivers: 1️⃣ Customer Growth (Revenue Driver): Capturing underserved and growing markets. 2️⃣ Personal Performance via Enablement (Productivity Driver): Closing the non-disabled:disabled colleague engagement gap. 3️⃣ Tomorrow’s Talent (Talent Driver): Attracting and retaining the next generation of skilled workers. 4️⃣ Universal Design (Innovation Driver): Embedding the principles of accessibility and inclusive design from the start, to “design for one, solve for many.” ACTION SUGGESTED ✅ Show me progress, don’t tell me. ✅ Start the Journey now. ✅ Progress eats perfection for breakfast ✅ Inclusion by design. Make “Built In, Not Bolted On” Nice example from Carolanne Minashi HSBC on the design of their new Global HQ. Also vital for AI/Tech product design - a perennial topic at AI4C workshops ✅ Ask 3 questions 1️⃣ What helps my customer (inclusive customer’s experience) ? 2️⃣ What gets the way 3️⃣ Who does it best ? To learn from. ✅ #Inclusive (#Coaching) #leadership. Active listen, be open to and embrace new ideas - as a former Chief Innovation Offcer - nice example from HSBC on how a cashier improved the experience for older customers on their app with an improved user interface - larger buttons … AI4C (is a Collaborative AI Knowledge Exchange community of over 80 Charities deploying #AI4Good) #7Cs Leadership: #Cause #CustomerCommunity #Curiosity #Collaboration #Communication #Courage #Consistency (you can read the report here: https://lnkd.in/eyxGX_-n).

So at last ! ..good to see the Government taking this decisive step one year one from #ActionAble where over 500 leaders downloaded the toolkit to start board level action plans. Mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting is long overdue (with an Action Plan !! mechanism) to help drive workplace equity. The data highlighted in this article underscores the urgency: UK-born Black UK-born Black, African, Caribbean or Black British employees earned 5.6 per cent less on average, after adjustment, than white peers employees. Meanwhile, the article highlghts how official data published in 2024 showed disabled employees earned 12.7 per cent less than those without a disability on an hourly basis.. While the impact of the gender pay reporting debate is still live to help narrow the full-time gap from 9.6% to 6.9% over the last decade, the missing piece has always been the requirement for a formal "action plan so great to see plans for that too next year. Devil will be in the detail however ! Transparency is the starting point, but accountability (as we talk about in the Disability Dividend report and our masterclass on Impact Strategy) is what helps move the needle - links below) This Friday, Sara Weller CBE will be joined by a panel of some of the most senior leaders in Financial Services to discuss the Disability Dividend Report - with reporting as one of our key reccomendations…..(please do join the webinar in comments) We would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this … https://lnkd.in/eAvhTStc Beth Knight Amy Low CPACC FRSA Jemma Waters Diane Lightfoot Emma Wilson FRSA Ellie Crouch Joanne Dewar Reg Cobb David Hall FRSA David Smith Dr. Asif Sadiq MBE Katy Talikowska Kate Nash OBE 🟣 Kathryn Townsend Rachel Vann

I’m really pleased to be joining an industry panel on Friday, 27 March for the ActionAble webcast: The Disability Dividend: Unlocking Growth in UK Financial Services. This important conversation brings together senior leaders from across our sector to explore findings that emerged from the roundtable behind the Disability Dividend report. We’ll discuss how improving disability inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s a commercial imperative. As boards and executive teams navigate fast‑shifting market pressures, disability inclusion offers a powerful and under‑leveraged source of competitive advantage. The report shines a light on the opportunities for banks and insurers to drive customer growth, strengthen productivity, fuel innovation and unlock access to a wider, highly capable talent pool. I’m looking forward to discussing these insights alongside: Sara Weller CBE CBE, Co‑Founder, ActionAble Carolanne Minashi Minashi, Global Head of Inclusion, HSBC Katie Worgan , Group Chief Operating Officer, L&G group I hope you can join us for what promises to be a forward‑thinking and insightful session. Click here to register.

Following the publication of The Disability Dividend: Unlocking Growth in UK Financial Services in February, we’re hosting a virtual discussion on Friday 27 March, 1:00PM–2:00PM, bringing together leaders from across the sector. Supported by EY, the session will explore key findings that emerged from the roundtable behind the report, and what those findings mean for boards and executive teams. The conversation will focus on the commercial opportunity, including implications for customer growth, productivity, innovation and access to talent. We also invite attendees to submit questions in advance to help shape a focused, thoughtful and accessible discussion. While we won’t be able to cover every question due to time constraints, this will help us prioritise the issues most relevant to senior leaders: https://lnkd.in/eK2G6G6V Speakers include: • Sara Weller CBE, Co-Founder, ActionAble • James Tufts, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP • Carolanne Minashi, Global Head of Inclusion, HSBC • David Oldfield OBE, Non-Executive Director, Santander UK • Katie Worgan, Group Chief Operating Officer, L&G – Asset Management If you’re involved in shaping strategy, customer growth, workforce or inclusion in your organisation, we’d encourage you to join the conversation. Places are limited – secure your place today: https://lnkd.in/efFXts77

In many organisations, engagement scores are used as a proxy for productivity. They’re useful, but they don’t tell the whole story. One of the strongest themes in the Financial Services discussions behind The Disability Dividend was how much performance depends on enablement – whether people have systems that work, processes that flex when needed, and adjustments that are made early rather than after problems surface. Where those conditions are in place, productivity tends to improve in a more sustained and predictable way across teams and roles. This is where inclusion starts to show up in operational results, rather than sitting alongside them as a separate agenda. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ef5K8c64

ImpactMatch is a partner of AbilityNet’s 2026 Tech4Good Awards, which celebrate the people and organisations using digital technology to make the world a better place. We have been helping the team specifically on the impact of the awards. For many years, the awards have shone a light on innovators using technology to tackle real-world challenges - from accessibility and inclusion to health, education and community support - while inspiring others across the sector to do the same. It’s fantastic to support the AbilityNet team this year. Over the coming months we’ll be sharing opportunities across our community to get involved - from submitting entries and nominating great work, to supporting the awards as a partner or sponsor. Submissions are now open! The awards are open internationally to individuals, businesses, charities, start-ups and public bodies using technology for good - whether you’re nominating yourself or someone whose work deserves recognition: https://lnkd.in/eWAxaUtt

Following the publication of The Disability Dividend: Unlocking Growth in UK Financial Services, we’re bringing together senior leaders from across the sector for a virtual discussion on what the findings mean in practice for boards and executive teams, supported by EY. This webinar will explore the insights that emerged from the senior roundtable behind the report and what they signal for the future of financial services leadership. The session will cover: • The key insights emerging from the report • What they mean for board and executive-level decision making • The commercial opportunity around inclusion and accessibility, including implications for customer growth, productivity, innovation and access to talent 🗓️ Friday 27 March, 1:00PM–2:00PM 📍 Online (Zoom) Speakers include: • Sara Weller CBE, Co-Founder, ActionAble • James Tufts, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP • Carolanne Minashi, Global Head of Inclusion, HSBC • David Oldfield OBE, Non-Executive Director, Santander UK • Katie Worgan, Group Chief Operating Officer, L&G – Asset Management Places are limited - Secure your place today: https://lnkd.in/efFXts77

The idea of universal design is often misunderstood. In the strongest examples from across the Financial Services organisations featured in the report, teams weren’t building niche solutions. They were simplifying journeys, reducing friction and making products easier to use - with disabled customers often the first to benefit. Those changes also improved outcomes more broadly: clearer processes, fewer errors and more consistent experiences. Often labelled the “kerb-cut effect”, this is simply the outcome of good design, applied consistently. All case studies are set out in The Disability Dividend report here: https://lnkd.in/ef5K8c64