Global Conference 2025 – Disability inclusion in a complex world

Our Global Conference, kindly sponsored by HSBC, was held online on Thursday 20 November 2025.

For businesses operating around the world, it can be a challenge to navigate differing local policies and attitudes towards disability inclusion. The global landscape for inclusion is becoming more complex, with stricter regulation in some jurisdictions and evolving attitudes in others.

Whether you are a CEO, inclusion specialist or working on the frontline, how can you ensure your business is consistently disability-smart across its global operations? How can you make a robust business case to maintain high standards of disability inclusion, and meet the rigorous standards for compliance expected in many parts of the world?

Our Global Conference explored how businesses are working in this complex global landscape. We heard from leading voices in disability inclusion, including a keynote from Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Vice President and Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft.

Recordings of all the conference sessions are available to Members and Partners on our Knowledge Hub.

View Global Conference recordings (Members and Partners only)
Headshot of Lara Davis.

BLOG: Highlights from our global conference

By Lara Davis, Director of Communications, Marketing and Digital at Business Disability Forum.

Lara shares highlights from our recent Global Conference ‘Disability Inclusion in a complex world’ kindly sponsored by HSBC. 

Read the Global Conference highlights

Sessions

Welcome from BDF and HSBC

Speakers

Getting serious about inclusion in a complex world

Disability inclusion is serious for business. There’s an indisputable business case for disability inclusion, but disability champions are swimming against a tide of global variations in regulation, compliance and culture, and a corrosive narrative that says disability inclusion is not important. This session sets the scene on the challenge businesses face in navigating the current complex global landscape.

Speakers

  • Wolfgang Kowatsch, Managing Director, myAbility Social Enterprise GmbH (Austria)
  • Jürgen Menze, Disability Inclusion Specialist, International Labour Organization (Switzerland)
  • Amy Whalley, CEO, Australian Disability Network (Australia)

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) – what we now know and how businesses are responding

Discover how the EAA is reshaping business obligations across the EU, by setting clear standards for digital and physical accessibility. Find out what’s certain, what remains unclear, and practical steps your business can take to stay ahead and seize new opportunities.

  • Chair, Lucy Ruck, Taskforce Manager, Business Disability Forum.

Speakers

  • Abi James, Senior Digital Accessibility Consultant, Barclays plc (UK)
  • Neil Milliken, Global Head of Accessibility & Digital Inclusion, Atos (UK)
  • Christopher Patnoe, Lead for EMEA Accessibility & Disability Innovation, Google (UK)

Maintaining high accessibility standards globally

No matter the cultural, socio-economic or political context, providing accessibility is essential for meeting the needs of employees and customers all around the world. Developing, implementing and maintaining consistent standards across a global footprint can be challenging, but is the most effective means to achieve the widest possible impact. In this session, businesses will share how they are working to deliver excellence across their global operations.

  • Chair, John McCalla-Leacy – Head of Global Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG), KPMG International.

Speakers

  • Donna Bungard, Director of Accessibility, Indeed (USA)
  • Marc Powell, Global Accessibility Centre of Excellence Lead, Unilever (UK)
  • Surali Siriwardene, Private Bank Head of Change Execution & WPS COO, HSBC (Hong Kong)

Read the recap blog on the session Maintaining high accessibility standards globally.

Understanding your global accessibility activities

It can be challenging for multi-national organisations to understand the full picture of their disability inclusion activities around the world. In this session, we’ll hear how global businesses are assessing their current disability inclusion activities across markets and using that information to shape their future strategies.

  • Chair, Adrian Ward, Director of Operations, Business Disability Forum.

Speakers

  • Christina Jones, VP Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Shell plc (USA)
  • Paula Aitkenhead, Disability Inclusion and Accessibility Global Lead, Schneider Electric (France)

Keynote interview

Media Links

If you require this content in a different format, contact enquiries@businessdisabilityforum.org.uk.

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