Latest / The Diversity Career Podcast with Fexingo: Inclusion, Equity, and Underrepresented Professionals / How Walgreens Built a Career Ladder for Workers with Disabilities
Transcript
- Lucas: When we think about diversity hiring, often the focus is on gender or race. But one group that's frequently overlooked is people with physical disabilities. Today, we're looking at Walgreens — specifically their Ability Program, which has built a genuine career ladder for workers with disabilities in their distribution centers. Luna: I've heard about their program. It's not just about hiring — it's about advancement, right? Lucas: Exactly. They started in 2010 with a single distribution center in Anderson, South Carolina. The idea was to design the workplace from the ground up to be accessible, and then hire people with disabilities into entry-level roles with a clear path to management. Luna: And what were the results? Lucas: Remarkable. By 2025, over 20 percent of the workforce at that center were employees with disabilities, and their turnover rate was less than half the company average. That's not just a feel-good story — that's a business metric. Luna: Twenty percent — that's not a token number. That's systemic. Lucas: And that's exactly the kind of model we talk about on this show. You know, it's funny — a lot of listeners ask how we keep the podcast going without ads. The honest answer is, a handful of people support us through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's what keeps these episodes coming. It's a small group, but it makes a huge difference. Luna: Yeah, and we're really grateful. It means we can focus on stories like this one. Lucas: So let's get into how that career ladder actually works. Walgreens didn't just hire people — they redesigned the entire work environment. Luna: What kind of changes are we talking about? Lucas: For starters, they worked with the Job Accommodation Network and local vocational rehab agencies to adjust workstations — lowering conveyor belts, installing lift tables, using voice-activated scanners. They also created color-coded job aids for employees with cognitive disabilities. Luna: So it's about removing barriers, not lowering expectations. Lucas: Exactly. They assessed each employee's skills and matched them to tasks. For example, if someone had a mobility impairment, they might be assigned to quality checks rather than heavy lifting. And then they provided on-the-job training for advancement. Luna: What does that advancement look like in practice? Lucas: An entry-level warehouse associate can move to team lead, then to shift supervisor, and even to operations manager. Walgreens tracks promotions — and they found that employees with disabilities are promoted at similar rates to their peers. Luna: That's key. A lot of programs plateau at the entry level. Lucas: Right. And Walgreens made sure the path was transparent. They posted promotion requirements and offered mentoring from managers who also sometimes had disabilities. Luna: Did they face any challenges? Lucas: Sure. One big one was overcoming managers' biases. Some supervisors initially doubted whether workers with disabilities could handle the pace. So Walgreens put managers through disability awareness training and showed them data from the Anderson center. Luna: And the data convinced them? Lucas: It did. When they saw that the Anderson center had lower turnover and higher productivity than other centers, the skepticism faded. And Walgreens expanded the program to other locations — by 2026, they had 20 distribution centers with similar initiatives. Luna: That's a 20-fold expansion in about 15 years. Lucas: And other companies have taken notice. Lowe's, UPS, and even Amazon have launched programs inspired by Walgreens' model. Amazon, for example, has a 'Fulfillment Centers for People with Disabilities' program. Luna: So it's becoming a movement. What's the one lesson you'd take away for our listeners? Lucas: That inclusion isn't just the right thing to do — it's a competitive advantage. Walgreens didn't sacrifice productivity; they enhanced it by tapping into a talent pool others ignore. Luna: And that talent pool is huge. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that people with disabilities have an unemployment rate almost double the national average — so there's a lot of untapped potential. Lucas: Exactly. And companies that design for inclusion from the start — like Walgreens did — don't just hire diverse talent; they retain it. That's the bottom line. Luna: Well said. Thanks for breaking that down. Lucas: Thanks for listening. If this episode made you think about your own workplace, we'd love to hear your story.