Press Release
San Francisco, CA— Olark, a leading provider of accessible chat and chatbot technology, today announced it is joining the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy in recognizing National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an annual awareness campaign that takes place each October. The purpose of National Disability Employment Awareness Month is to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. This year's theme is "Access to Good Jobs for All."
The history of NDEAM traces back to 1945, when it started as a week and focused only on people with physical disabilities. Later, it expanded to a full month, and its name and scope evolved to acknowledge the importance of increasing the workforce inclusion of people with all nature of disabilities.
“Our communities and economy are strengthened by the inclusion of all people, including people with disabilities,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams. “Their contributions have historically been vital to our nation’s success and are more important today than ever. We must build an accessible, equitable economy that fully includes the talent and drive of those with disabilities.”
Reflecting this year's theme throughout the month, Olark will be curating a series of conversations with thought leaders in various industries on disability employment issues and the ongoing commitment needed to create accessible and equitable work cultures. These conversations will be published throughout October to elevate the conversation around tech accessibility, particularly in the workplace.
"Olark is proud to be a part of this year's National Disability Employment Awareness Month," said Ben Congleton, CEO and co-founder of Olark. "Accessibility is a core tenet at Olark and we’re committed to ensuring our work adheres to the highest accessibility standards. Therefore, it was important to me, and everyone here, that we proactively contribute to National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) this October. My goal for these conversations is to inspire and empower people to be change agents for accessibility within their organization and beyond.”
Employers and employees in all industries can learn more about how to participate in National Disability Employment Awareness Month and ways they can promote its messages—during October and throughout the year—by visiting dol.gov/NDEAM.
About Olark
Olark is an easy-to-use live chat and AI platform that helps small- to mid-sized businesses talk to customers on their website in a human way. More than 12,000 businesses worldwide use Olark to increase sales, improve conversions, and better understand their customers. Founded in 2009 and based in California, Olark is a fully distributed company with employees across the US and Canada. Learn more at www.olark.com