Our consistent top score demonstrates our continuing effort to create an inclusive culture for people with disabilities.

For the fourth year in a row, Astellas has been included in the Disability Equality Index as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” by Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). For the third consecutive year, Astellas earned a top score of 100. The Disability Equality Index® (DEI) is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions that they can take to achieve disability inclusion and equality.

“We are proud to receive this continued recognition for our journey toward creating a work environment where all employees feel welcomed, supported and meaningfully engaged,” said Frank Hudson, senior vice president, Corporate Finance and Control. “Our Abilities Employee Impact Group team members deserve much of the credit for our continuous innovation in this space. They inspire all of us to constantly push ourselves to do more.”

The Abilities Employee Impact Group (Abilities EIG) works to raise awareness of the impact that physical, mental, and emotional disabilities have on the Astellas community. They work tirelessly through advocacy, education and volunteerism to educate the community, engage employees and promote inclusivity of employees with disabilities and drive internal visibility of these employees from the standpoint of career development and progression. Recently, the Abilities EIG team held its first Emotional Wellbeing Support Group focusing on connecting employees on a deeper level by bringing people together to support one another through listening, sharing, and providing resources. Employees shared how the emotional and mental challenges affect them at work and discussed how they could find help as part of our One Astellas culture of support. In addition, they host a Cancer Support Group and Autism Support Group to provide an opportunity for people to share personal experiences and feelings and coping strategies.

“Disability inclusion is a rapidly expanding aspect of Astellas’ culture as our Abilities EIG continues to create new opportunities by cross collaborating with our six other EIGs to promote awareness events and inviting discussions,” stated La Toya McClellan, senior director and global head of Engagement, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “We are honored to score 100 on the Disability Equality Index and recognize that there’s still room for improvement as we remain committed to growing our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. I can confidently state that it’s our diverse and passionate workforce that makes us the best at what we do.”

As Astellas continues to grow its disability inclusion strategy and programming, we are proud to offer our employees and families incredible well-being programs like our Family Care Solutions. These programs support employees and family members to address a variety of life challenges including caring for elderly parents, unexpected childcare needs and extensive help for employees and families living with disabilities.

Learn more about Astellas’ commitment to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture here and our Abilities EIG here.