SHL Launches Purple Tuesday Initiative in the U.S. to Improve Experiences for Disabled Customers and Employees

The celebration on Nov. 1 will feature special events in and around Minneapolis, including a performance of “Purple Rain” in ASL by Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf students

MINNEAPOLIS & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Purple Tuesday, the global initiative to recognize and improve the experiences of disabled customers year-round, is taking place in the U.S. for the first time. SHL, the global leader in HR technology and psychometric science, in partnership with UK-based Purple, is leading the charge on Nov. 1 with a day of discussion, speakers, and special events in and around Minneapolis. The celebration will extend to the Interstate 35W bridge, which will be bathed in purple light for the entire night.

The celebration will begin Tuesday morning with a reception, keynotes, and a panel discussion at St. Cloud State University, followed by a trip to Prince’s studio in Paisley Park, where students from the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf will perform “Purple Rain” in American Sign Language. The day will conclude with an evening reception at SHL headquarters in Minneapolis.

"SHL has a long history of commitment to disability inclusion, as Valuable 500 members, headline partners with Purple and Disability Confident employer accreditation," said Lucy Adler, SHL inclusion director. "We are proud to be supporting Purple to bring its mission and vision to the U.S and to change the conversation around people with disabilities, from one focused on charity and vulnerability to one about value, contribution, community, and opportunity. We are excited to help U.S. organizations become more inclusive for their employees, job candidates, and customers with disabilities."

As part of Purple Tuesday, organizations are asked to pledge ways they will improve the customer experience for the disabled community. In 2019, SHL pledged to research the experience of millions of candidates who take its assessments to ensure they are as inclusive as possible for the neurodivergent community. Fulfilling that pledge, SHL founded the Neurodiversity Research Program, which now sits within SHL Labs, an innovation powerhouse dedicated to transforming the talent landscape, including a focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

SHL Labs is uniquely positioned to research evidence-based practices for serving the neurodivergent community. Globally, 500,000 candidates complete SHL assessments weekly – resulting in 25 million assessments annually. With an estimated 15%-20% of the population having a neurodivergent condition, SHL's clients' candidate pools will include neurodivergent candidates.

"As the global commitment to disability inclusion gains momentum, we're receiving a growing number of inquiries from our clients about accessibility and accommodations for our assessments, particularly regarding neurodiverse talent," says Adler. "To advise our clients and share updates about our research program, we have published a special report, 'Assessing Neurodiverse Talent: Insights from SHL's Neurodiversity Research Program.' I am so proud of what we have achieved in this space, and we have lots more planned over the next few years."

The free report, available here for downloading, shares details about SHL's research and provides critical takeaways for implementing an inclusive experience for candidates.

For more information about Purple Tuesday and how to get involved, please visit https://www.shl.com/purpletuesday.

About Purple Tuesday

Launched in 2018, Purple Tuesday is a global social movement and the No.1 brand for improving the customer experience for disabled people and their families 365 days a year. The initiative inspires the leadership and staff of organizations of all sectors and sizes to promote awareness, develop understanding and implement solutions for better accessibility in their customer environments.

The Purple Tuesday movement is celebrated annually on the first Tuesday of November, For more information, visit: https://purpletuesday.co/. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

About SHL

SHL, the global leader in HR technology and psychometric science, transforms businesses by leveraging the power of people, science, and technology.

Our unrivaled workforce data and highly validated talent solutions provide organizations with the workforce and scale to optimally leverage their people's potential that maximizes business outcomes.

We equip recruiters and leaders with people insights at an organization, team, and individual level, accelerating growth, decision making, talent mobility, and inspiring an inclusive culture. To build a future where businesses thrive because their people thrive.

With 45 years of talent expertise, we are the trusted technology partner to more than 10,000 companies worldwide, across more than 150 countries, including 50% of the Fortune Global 500 and 80% of the FTSE 100. For more information, visit shl.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.