The ILO Global Business and Disability Network (GBDN) Self-Assessment Tool is a free organizational benchmarking resource designed to help businesses evaluate and strengthen their disability inclusion practices. Its primary purpose is to support employers in assessing how effectively they promote equality, accessibility, and inclusion for people with disabilities as employees, job candidates, customers, and stakeholders. The tool is aligned with the ten principles of the ILO GBDN Charter and the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), providing a structured framework for organizations seeking to improve their disability confidence and inclusion performance.
The tool was developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) Global Business and Disability Network as a practical management instrument for employers. It was designed to translate international disability inclusion principles and labour standards into measurable organizational practices. The assessment framework evaluates business performance against recognized disability inclusion benchmarks and generates a confidential report identifying strengths, gaps, and priority areas for improvement. Organizations that complete the assessment are assigned a performance level of “Foundational,” “Practitioner,” or “Leader,” based on their results.
The primary audience for the resource is business leaders, country-level management teams, human resources professionals, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practitioners, accessibility specialists, and multinational corporations seeking to assess disability inclusion across local operations. Although originally developed for corporate members of the ILO GBDN, the tool can be used by any organization interested in advancing disability inclusion.
Organizations should use this resource when developing disability inclusion strategies, evaluating workplace accessibility practices, measuring progress toward inclusion goals, or identifying priorities for action. It is particularly valuable for employers seeking to create a disability-confident culture, improve recruitment and retention of employees with disabilities, benchmark performance across locations, and align operations with international disability rights and labour standards.
Overall, the tool provides a practical roadmap for continuous improvement, helping businesses move from basic compliance toward leadership in disability inclusion.
