In this powerful episode, Anthony Shop sits down with Jill Houghton, President and CEO of Disability:IN, the world’s leading nonprofit driving disability inclusion and accessibility across global business. With a career shaped by personal experience, public policy, and transformative corporate partnerships, Jill shares how she has helped build a global movement rooted in the belief that disability is a strength and a critical competitive advantage for companies.
Jill brings more than leadership insights; she brings stories of CEOs, next-gen talent, global boards, and individuals who found their voice through disability inclusion. Together, these stories illustrate how influence fueled by authenticity, visibility, and data can create lasting change.
Takeaways:
- Disability as a Strength—and a Source of Innovation: Jill describes how her own learning disability shaped her understanding of disability inclusion and purpose. She explains why disability is not a deficit but a “natural part of the human experience” that brings insight, adaptability, and innovation to business.
- From Policy to Business: Where Real Influence Happens: After early work supporting the Americans with Disabilities Act, Jill realized that legislation alone can’t change attitudes. Business, she says, has unmatched power to accelerate disability inclusion—especially when leaders see disability inclusion as good for business, not just good intentions.
- The Rise of Cross-Industry “Frenemies”: Jill shares how competitors across tech, finance, and healthcare have become collaborators through Disability:IN—driving each other to improve, learn, and push the movement forward.
- Inside the Disability Index: Jill breaks down the origins, purpose, and future of the Disability Index, now in its 12th year and undergoing a major modernization. She reveals why companies crave maturity models, benchmarking, and transparent reporting—and how measurement fuels momentum: “What gets measured matters.”
- Visibility as a Strategy for Influence: Jill discusses why encouraging leaders to talk openly about disability—internally and publicly—is essential. Visibility creates momentum, breaks stigma, and empowers others to come forward.
- Stories That Change Culture: From Microsoft’s Jenny Lay-Flurrie openly identifying as deaf, to a senior executive who uses captions in secret finally naming his disability, Jill shows how storytelling unlocks culture change.
- Influence as Connection, Trust, and Listening: Jill closes with her personal definition of influence: using your power for good by listening first, building trust, and responding authentically to the needs of others.
Quote of the Show:
- “Disability is a strength and a natural part of the human experience.”
Links:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-houghton/
- Website: https://disabilityin.org/