Coles ranks first for access and inclusion for people with disabilities

Coles Group has achieved the top ranking out of 40 organisations in the recent Access and Inclusion Index 2023.

The winners were announced at the recent Disability Conference Awards, acknowledging organisations who are implementing new initiatives, improving processes, or making systematic changes to their workplaces to become inclusive of employees and customers with disability. 

Leah Weckert, CEO of Coles Group, said Coles was committed to continuing its momentum in closing the disability inclusion gap for its team members, customers, and the communities it serves. 

“Disability inclusion has been an integral part of the Coles Group strategy for a number of years and we are delighted to have made changes across our business to reflect this, most notably in our employment and workforce representation, with 7.6 per cent of our 120,000 team members identifying as living with disability.

“While we are proud of our growth in this area, we are committed to further improving the representation of our workforce who have disability, and supporting their development by providing them with the tools to progress their careers at Coles.”

The last Access and Inclusion Index results in 2021 saw Coles ranked third but has since made a number of changes to its in-store accessibility and digital customer accessibility such as expanding Quiet Hour, implementing Disability Confidence Training to customer-facing team members, participating in the Australian Disability Network PACE Mentoring program, and Launching an Autism Support Hub for leaders and team members, amongst others.

“The Australian Disability Network’s Index is an important benchmark, and sets the tone for Australian organisations to continue to implement improvements and initiatives that help close the disability gap – no matter what rank you achieve,” said Weckert. 

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