From Awareness to Belonging: The Evolution of NDEAM and Disability Employment
Every October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month gives us an opportunity to recognize the contributions of people with disabilities in the workforce and reflect on the work still ahead.
In 2026, the official NDEAM theme is “Celebrating Value and Talent.” It recognizes the skills and contributions people with disabilities bring to workplaces, communities, and the economy.
NDEAM has a long history. What started as an effort to increase awareness of workers with disabilities has grown alongside major changes in disability rights, workplace protections, accessibility, technology, and our understanding of inclusion.
That history reflects an important evolution:
Awareness creates visibility.
Action creates progress.
Belonging creates workplaces where people can thrive.
In 2026, that progression feels especially important.
The job market continues to create barriers for people with disabilities. Employers and employees are adapting to rapidly changing technology. Federal disability employment policy is shifting. Established Section 503 benchmarks have been removed.
The choices employers make now will help shape the next chapter of disability inclusion at work.
NDEAM and the Evolution of Workplace Inclusion
Disability employment has changed significantly since the first national observance in 1945.
Early efforts focused heavily on awareness and visibility. Over time, advocacy by people with disabilities, legislation, workplace policy, and changing expectations helped expand the conversation to include equal opportunity, accessibility, accommodations, representation, and career advancement.
The Americans with Disabilities Act expanded civil rights protections for people with disabilities. The ADA Amendments Act broadened the definition of disability. Updates to Section 503 created a measurable disability employment benchmarks for covered federal contractors.
Workplace inclusion also expanded beyond physical access.
Digital accessibility, accessible recruiting, workplace accommodations, flexible work, assistive technology, psychological safety, and career development have become essential parts of the employee experience.
NDEAM evolved along with that progress.
Today, the Department of Labor encourages employers to use NDEAM as an opportunity to review workplace policies, train supervisors, educate employees, discuss accommodations and reinforce a commitment to accessible workplace culture throughout the year.
That is an important evolution. Awareness becomes meaningful when it shapes what people actually experience at work.
The 2026 Workplace Tells Us There Is More Work to Do
The employment landscape continues to create significant barriers for people with disabilities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 8.3% in 2025, compared with 4.1% for people without disabilities.
Across all age groups, people with disabilities were also less likely to be employed.
More recent Department of Labor data show that in September 2026, the unemployment rate was 7.8% among working-age people with disabilities ages 16 to 64. Their employment-population ratio was 40.3%.
Our own 2026 Disability at Work research provides a closer look at how barriers are experienced throughout the job search and workplace.
Access is a major factor in employment decisions. In the survey, 56.4% of respondents identified access to accommodations as a top consideration when searching for a job, followed closely by work-life balance or work hours at 55.8% and location or remote flexibility at 54.9%.
The challenges continue after someone is hired. 60.1% of respondents had requested a workplace accommodation, and 56.8% described the process as very or extremely challenging. More than one-quarter reported having an accommodation request denied, while 31.4% said they received no communication after submitting a request.
Belonging and psychological safety also remain concerns. Only 13.4% of respondents said they currently feel fully safe disclosing a disability, and 49.8% reported a reduced sense of belonging at work following national and organizational DEI pullbacks.
These experiences matter because inclusion is ultimately experienced through systems.
A career site someone can navigate.
An application someone can complete.
An interview process that provides access to accommodations.
A manager who understands how to respond to an accommodation request.
Technology employees can use.
Opportunities to develop, advance and lead.
These everyday experiences are where awareness becomes action and action creates belonging.
A Step Back in Disability Employment Progress
This year's NDEAM also arrives just after significant changes to Section 503 have been implemented.
In August 2026, the Department of Labor finalized changes to the regulations implementing Section 503. The new rule removes several requirements created under the 2013 regulations, including the 7% disability utilization goal, required utilization analyses, disability self-identification requirements and related data-collection requirements. The rule took effect September 21, 2026, with one provision scheduled for December 21.
Section 503 itself continues to require covered federal contractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance qualified individuals with disabilities, and its nondiscrimination protections remain.
The loss of established benchmarking requirements represents a significant change in how progress is measured.
For employers committed to disability inclusion, measurement and accountability still matter.
The Department of Labor's final rule itself identifies actions contractors can take, including reviewing job requirements for barriers, conducting disability-focused outreach and recruitment, making hiring systems accessible to people using assistive technology and providing clear information about requesting accommodations.
Independent benchmarking will also continue to play an important role. The 2026 Disability Index, for example, evaluates disability inclusion across nine areas including accessibility, accommodations, leadership, recruitment, career development and culture. Disability:IN describes this approach as embedding disability inclusion within core business systems and operations.
Employers now have an opportunity to take greater ownership of what they measure, how they hold themselves accountable and how they define progress.
Looking Toward the 2027 Job Market
The broader job market is changing at the same time.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects total U.S. employment to grow by 5.9 million jobs between 2025 and 2035, with much of that growth driven by healthcare and social assistance.
Those projections extend beyond 2027, so they should be viewed as a longer-term direction for the labor market rather than a prediction for any single year.
For 2027, employers and job seekers will continue navigating a workplace being reshaped by technology and AI, changing skill needs and evolving approaches to where and how work gets done.
The future of disability employment will depend in part on decisions being made right now about technology, recruiting, accommodations, job design and workplace culture.
For people with disabilities, accessibility has to remain part of that evolution.
That includes access to:
Job opportunities
Accessible applications and hiring technology
Accommodations
Flexible ways of working
Accessible workplace technology
Training and development
Career advancement
Leadership opportunities
It also means creating environments where employees feel safe asking for what they need.
From Awareness to Belonging
NDEAM has helped bring disability employment into the national (and global) conversation for more than eight decades.
Each generation has added something to that work.
Awareness brought visibility.
Action brought accessibility, protections, measurement, and accountability.
Belonging asks us to build those principles into the everyday experience of work.
That means looking beyond October and examining the systems people interact with throughout their careers.
It means creating accessible pathways into employment.
It means making accommodations easier to request and receive.
It means preparing managers.
It means evaluating technology for accessibility.
It means continuing to measure disability employment progress, even as federal requirements change.
And it means listening to people with disabilities about the workplace experiences that help them thrive.
NDEAM gives us a moment each year to recognize progress. It also gives us a chance to decide where the work goes next.
As we move toward 2027, employers have an opportunity to keep that progress moving forward and build workplaces where people with disabilities have access to opportunity, support, growth, and a genuine sense of belonging.
Awareness started the conversation. Action moved the work forward. Belonging is the future we have to build together.
