Thanks to efforts by ABLED employee resource group, Argonne is first national lab to be named a “best place to work for disability inclusion”
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory is the first DOE national laboratory to be named a “best place to work for disability inclusion” by Disability:IN, the leading national disability advocacy group. Argonne’s employee resource group ABLED (Argonne Backs, Listens, and Educates for Disabilities) spearheaded the effort to earn the designation.
In a partnership with the American Association of People with Disabilities, Disability:IN offers a Disability Equality Index (DEI) survey. The DEI survey is an impartial and unbiased national benchmarking tool that gives organizations a means for understanding how inclusive their respective organizations are to people with disabilities.
The survey measures culture and leadership, enterprise-wide access, employment benefits, recruitment, accommodation, employment, education, retention, advancement, community engagement, and supplier diversity. The survey also provides an unbiased means to understand the various gaps in the participating organizations’ policies.
Argonne recently completed its first annual DEI survey and made the scoring threshold to qualify as a best place to work. Disability:IN made the announcement on July 15, 2020.
“We are proud to be the first national lab to get this designation,” said Jim Bluemond (HRS), who acts as chairperson of ABLED. “Argonne is doing great things in this area, but there are things we can improve upon, and we will continue to pursue those.”
In addition to efforts and assistance that were already underway, ABLED recently initiated two new employee support groups — one focused on cancer (for patients, survivors, or caretakers) and one for employees parenting children on the autism spectrum and related disorders. The creation of these groups has been well received, and the groups are successfully extending help to employees in need.
Bluemond added that these efforts have been enthusiastically supported by senior leadership at Argonne. Argonne’s Leadership Institute funded the lab’s participation in the DEI survey.
The following ABLED members were key contributors to the completion of the Disability Equality Index survey: Jacqueline Dearborn (PMO), Chris McKay (HEW), Carolyn Tomchik (NSE) and ABLED co-founders, Jim Bluemond (HRS), Frank Montagna (BIS) and Harrel Townsend (HRS) along with executive sponsor, Leslie Krohn (CPA).
ABLED was established in 2018 to educate the Argonne community on issues that affect people with disabilities and to advocate for, and support, employees with disabilities.
To sign-up for ABLED’s newsletter and keep informed of calendars and events, please contact abled@anl.gov.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.