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HP Promotes Employee Awareness of Disability Issues
PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 23, 2001
Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HWP) is commemorating National Disability Employment Awareness Month with a series of activities aimed at increasing employee awareness of issues faced by people with disabilities as well as promoting accessible technology. Additionally, HP employees in various job functions throughout the United States will observe National Disability Mentoring Day on Oct. 24 by working with students with disabilities.
HP will be conducting discussions and presentations to promote diversity within the company and among employees who work with customers with disabilities. HP is working with regional advocacy groups, education institutions, major assistive technology vendors and local community leaders to present a varied program. Presentations will cover topics such as accessibility legislation, the use of American Sign Language and how people with disabilities use technology.
On National Disability Mentoring Day, employees in areas such as research and development, legal, customer support, global diversity and Web development will discuss their work activities with local students with disabilities. The students will gain first hand exposure to work experience at HP and discuss career options available to them. Mentoring activities will take place at HP sites in Palo Alto; Boise, Idaho; and Richardson, Texas.
HP is committed to playing a leadership role in the development of accessible information technology by designing, producing and marketing products and services that can be used effectively by anyone, including those with disabilities.
HP's Technology Council drives the cross-company technology initiative to integrate accessibility solutions with current and emerging technologies, with the ultimate goal of incorporating accessibility into all areas of product development.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for HP to pull together leadership and engineering talent from across the company to develop and promote accessibility solutions," said Denice Gant, director, HP Accessibility Solutions Program. "Accessibility is a critical part of enabling everyone to participate in the social and economic benefits of technology."
HP has launched a Web site, http://www.hp.com/accessibility, that provides information about its accessibility program as well as a database of the accessibility features of HP products. The Web site also includes information on HP's efforts to make all its own Web sites more accessible to everyone and HP's involvement in the development of accessibility standards in the U.S. and other countries.
About HP
Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to all. HP had total revenue from continuing operations of $48.8 billion in its 2000 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.
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