Google: ‘I promise you, you’re going to see returns’ on disability inclusion

For $306 billion Fortune 100 tech giant Google, being an inclusive workplace is not just the right thing to do, it is a business imperative.

This attitude extends beyond the classic types of diversity that are talked about a lot – race and gender for instance – and towards other more overlooked types like disability inclusion.

At the end of the day, as a technology provider, Google needs to build products that work for everyone – according to the World Health Organization, there are more than a billion people globally who identify as having a disability, so “we would be remiss if we didn’t take inclusion of this community seriously”, Valeisha Butterfield, VP of Partnerships and Engagement at Google, tells UNLEASH in an exclusive interview.

Internally, Google focuses on “making sure that accessibility is not only a baseline, but that we’re also going above and beyond, and we are really centering accessibility and disability inclusion at the core of what we do”, adds Butterfield.

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Google’s commitment to being a disability inclusive organization is clear – in fact, Butterfield shares that this is is central to why she returned to Google in 2022 (she had previously worked on inclusion at the tech giant from 2016 to 2020).

Plus Google has ranked 100 on the Disability Equality Index for the past four years, meaning it is one of the best places to work in the world for people with disabilities.

The tech giant’s disability inclusion work is “not transactional, it’s not a trend, it’s something that is a mainstay”, declares Butterfield.

Here’s how Google is actually walking the walk, not just talking the talk on creating an inclusive, equitable and accessible workforce for all of its 156,000 workers.

Disability inclusion is an art and a science

For Butterfield, “there’s an art and a science to the work we’re doing around disability inclusion”, and in fact the inclusion work more generally.

She gets excited about the “art of storytelling”; “we need to show the faces, we need tell the stories” of individual Googlers.

But the tech giant is conscious of “not doing this in a performative way”; “we would never want to tell stories that we didn’t have the impact to back up”, states Butterfield.

To help here, Google leans into community. A central part of Butterfield’s role as VP of Partnerships and Engagement is overseeing and maintaining good relationships with its 17 employee resource groups (ERGs) across 52 countries (around one in three Googlers are part of an ERG).

Butterfield tells UNLEASH: “I really have to give kudos to our internal teams, especially our ERG, Disability Alliance. It is a powerful force of an ERG; they make sure we are amplifying the voices of Googlers who identify as having disabilities…and that we continue to keep our foot on the gas.”

Continuing to build the relationship with Disability Alliance is an area of pride for Butterfield – in fact, the group was named ERG of the Year in 2020 by non-profit Disability:IN.

Valeisha Butterfield, VP of Partnerships and Engagement, Google.

She also leads Google’s engagement with external organization; Disability Alliance makes sure that the employer is engaging with the right organizations. One example is Valuable 500, a global business partnership of 500 businesses seeking to end disability exclusion.

Google is one of 14 Iconic Partners of the Valuable 500 (and has been since 2021), and that close relationship, for Butterfield, ensures “we’re making the right decisions every step of the way in everything we do”.

“We don’t know everything and we need partners who can guide us, teach us,” she adds.

So, that’s the art of inclusion, but what is the science?

The simple answer is data. “We are a data company, a tech company, so we make data-driven decisions” whenever it comes to disability inclusion at Google.

‘You can’t change what you don’t measure’

The importance of data in driving Google’s commitment to disability inclusion, and inclusion more generally, cannot be overstated.

You can’t change what you don’t measure. You never want to be in the guessing business. We want to hear from the community, so that we can ensure we are responding with the right things,” notes Butterfield.

That’s why in 2019, Google launched a voluntary Self ID survey as part its diversity annual report, which has been around for a decade.

“It’s important for us…to be able to say, okay, now we know the population, we have a better sense of where we are, what they need, and then we can actually be more strategic and thoughtful with how we approach our work,” shares Butterfield.

Some examples of successes at Google include a new careers site (and a careers accommodation team) to ensure that the recruitment process is inclusive for all.

Also, Google has provided resources to employees like visual support assistance, captions and sign language interpreters through the dedicated Disability Accommodations team, as well as creating educational resources for managers in partnership with external companies.

Interestingly, the percentage of Googlers who have self-identified as having a disability has declined from 7.5% in 2019, to a low of 5.4% in 2022, and stabilized at 6.5% in 2023.

UNLEASH was keen to find out the reason behind this decline.

Butterfield shares that actual numbers of people with disabilities are increasing year on year, but the number of people, overall filling out the Self-ID has grown faster. “This results in some percentages seeming to decline”, she explains.

For Butterfield and Google, the employer’s commitment to data-driven decisions and Self-ID isn’t just internal; the tech giant is partnering (alongside Deloitte) with the Valuable 500 on a Self-ID guide for organizations unsure where to start on collecting the data.

“For us, if we are able to do it, if we’ve been able to find partners who can help us guide through it, then others can too,” notes Butterfield.

The future of disability inclusion at Google

“I am proud of the progress that has been made” to date on disability inclusion, shares Butterfield.

But “we certainly aren’t done, we have a lot of work left to do”, she adds.

I feel like it’s such a responsibility to have this seat and that encourages me to never waste a day.”

When Butterfield returned to Google in 2022, her priority was for the tech giant to “get in the moonshot business”, and “truly be global in our approach”. A great example of success here is Google hosting its first-ever disability inclusion summit in APAC.

In 2024, Butterfield is continuing with her moonshots – “my team is like ‘Valeisha, come back to Earth’, but I want to keep shooting for the moon as there’s so much I want to do this year” in disability inclusion and beyond.

She wants to continue to build on the global scope and scale of Google’s disability inclusion initiatives.

“Instead of doing a lot of new things, it is about going deeper [and] driving more impact across all of the communities that we represent”, including by deepening those partnerships, whether internal or external.

“I really believe in the power of partnerships”; to drive success “you have to do it with others”.

Given how important inspiring (and empowering) others to follow suit is for Google, UNLEASH was keen to find out Butterfield’s top tips for HR leaders and organizations struggling to know where to start, or move the needle, with disability inclusion.

First of all, “whether you are in the early stages around disability inclusion, or much further along like Google, it is never too late to start”.

It starts with one step, one conversation, and then taking action,” adds Butterfield .

She shares a story of when she was working as President at The Recording Academy, the governing body behind the Grammys. “They invited me to do a panel focused on creators with disabilities, I remember sitting there, and for an hour learning about all the gaps and the progress that needed to be made.”

“I could’ve been embarrassed and afraid, but instead of putting a wall up, I listened”, and then made changes.

For Butterfield, the most important takeaway from this experience is “we have to build with the community, not for it”.

But “the tone at the top” is what determines success, so Butterfield’s messages to organizations is “support your HR practitioners, support your diversity officer” and invest in them.

“This work is hard, [but] so worth it”, and if you get it right, “I promise you, you’re going to see returns”, concludes Butterfield.