Finding Empowerment in ABILITY

Note: ABILITY is Centene’s People with Disabilities and Caregivers Network. As with all Employee Inclusion Groups (EIGs), it is open to any employee who wishes to join. The group is made up of people with disabilities, caregivers, and allies at Centene. 

"DEI truly is in our DNA at Centene. These EIGs give a voice to our members and Centene really listens,” Amy T., co-leader of ABILITY shares. Amy leads ABILITY along with her colleague Sabrina W. 

“Hearing from our colleagues is a part of what drives me. Getting feedback such as “I don’t feel alone anymore,” or “This is helping me in conversations with my leader” is rewarding and lets us know the impact our programming has on our EIG membership,” Sabrina, who co-leads along with Amy, explains. 

The mission of ABILITY is to support and bring necessary awareness to employees with disabilities and caregivers, to better enable employees' ability to reach their full potential in the workplace and to empower allies to help create a safe space where all can thrive. Challenging stereotypes and stigmas associated with people with disabilities is at the core of this group’s mission where it works to expand disability cultural competencies that focus on education, engagement, accessibility, talent enhancement, and community involvement which in turn drives engagement and performance. 

“EIGs provide an opportunity to connect with people you might not normally work with on a day-to-day basis,” Amy explains. “ABILITY provides resources and tools to our members as well as the opportunity to fill your cup using skills you might not use every day.” 

Over the past year, ABILITY membership has almost doubled – many in the ‘Allies’ category. This allyship is extremely important in educating the entire Centene community and increasing disability cultural competency. “Being an ally in this group might include spreading awareness about the resources here at Centene. We can ask, ‘How can I assist and encourage others?’” Amy notes. 

Another goal of this EIG is to instill psychological safety – or feeling safe to be yourself at work. After attending ABILITY meetings, members report feeling empowered to have conversations with their people leaders and colleagues about necessary accommodations and other ways to advocate for themselves. 

These conversations cover a lot of ground, but they often center around flexibility. 

Centene’s workplace flexibility empowers all team members but can be especially vital for employees with disabilities. Hybrid or remote working and flexible schedules may help employees work most effectively and increase work-life balance. 

“We have the power to create space for these conversations, but it also takes a willingness to open up. Centene continues to support the EIGs as we work to foster safe and courageous spaces to have conversations that can be a catalyst for change,” Sabrina adds.