The Valuable 500, a global movement for change: TechShare Pro 2021
Sarah Botterill | 17 Nov 2021It has been a milestone year for Caroline Casey and The Valuable 500, the global movement she founded just three and a bit years ago to “break the CEO silence” on disability. She joined us at TechShare Pro 2021 to talk about the next steps to build a "murmuration" of support with other organisations and groups.
The Valuable 500 reaches 500 signatories
Speaking at TechShare Pro 2021, Casey celebrates reaching her goal of 500 signatories from CEOs of the world’s largest and most influential companies.
“The Valuable 500 was created for several reasons,” said Casey, “to get the commitment and attention, and intention of the world’s most influential CEOs to support the business in integrating disability inclusion across their supply chains.”
Another key aim is to make those at the top accountable and, in Casey’s words, to “end the inclusion delusion that left disability outside the inclusion and diversity agenda.”
What’s next for The Valuable 500?
From the outset, Casey wanted to create a “collective mass” to drive systemic change. Fast forward three years to May 18, 2021, and The Valuable 500 is the world’s biggest CEO coalition after UN Global Compact, an organisation addressing climate change.
“We are 500 companies. We represent 20 million employees, 41 countries headquartered, 64 sectors, and 8 trillion in revenue,” said Casey.
So, what’s next? There’s little rest for Casey, who now wants to activate the community and drive systemic change. All companies who joined had to make a leadership commitment, which will be audited and published in January 2022.
But that was just the start.
The next step, says Casey, is an ambitious transformation programme.
“That’s around the culture of the business, the comfortableness of the C-Suite in it, the customer experience, the gaps in reporting and research, and really trying to drive change around representation,” said Casey.
A murmuration of support
Casey believes we’ve reached a tipping point and that joining forces with other movements and campaigns will create “A movement that is just unstoppable.”
“This moment in time, [is a] moment to collaborate…I think our greatest power is these collective units. It’s like a murmuration of starlings in the sky, moving in one direction and hopefully driving that change,” said Casey.
Support from iconic companies
The Valuable 500 plans to work with “13 iconic companies” to accelerate this transformational change and to test models for doing it.
The companies include Allianz, the BBC, Deloitte Global, EY, LSEG, Mahindra Group, Procter and Gamble, Sky, Sony Group, and Verizon.
In addition, The Valuable 500 will continue to campaign. “We identify the best in class, the greatest innovations. And we challenge, I mean, that’s what we’re here to do: challenge and support each other. But I hope by this time, next year, you will have at least four of our iconic solutions out in the marketplace,” said Casey.
Already, ‘supergroups’ are coming together and driving change, having joined up with WeThe15.
“We’re starting to each help each other, whether it’s changed through sports, through pop culture, change through business [or] change through policy,” said Casey.
Casey added: “What’s exciting bringing these kinds of mass movements together to create a fully global, collective of change where we can all participate regardless of what our expertise is, our passion, our level we’re allies for each other.”
