Redefining ability: How Bloomberg colleagues thrive with diverse abilities

At Bloomberg, our success is built on empowering employees to bring their unique perspectives to the workplace. After all, our diverse community is our greatest strength. And with approximately 16% of the global population living with apparent or non-apparent disabilities, our colleagues with disabilities are an integral part of that diversity.

Our commitment to disability inclusion is demonstrated through our partnerships with Lime Connect and Disability:IN, global organizations dedicated to driving disability inclusion and equality in businesses, and acknowledgement of four awards from the Accessibility Consortium of Enterprises (ACE).

Not only does the company work to create opportunities for people with disabilities, but we also prioritize setting up our employees for success and raising awareness about their experiences. Their stories challenge preconceptions and remind us that understanding and embracing diverse experiences enrich the company and its culture. By making sure that all employees can bring their authentic identities to the workplace, we all benefit.

Nowhere is this better demonstrated than through the Bloomberg Communities, employee-led, company-wide affinity groups. Our Abilities Community, known as B-ABLE, provides a space for Bloomberg employees with disabilities, from neurodiversity to physical and everything in between. Not only does B-ABLE allow employees with disabilities to support one another, but it also raises awareness within the wider Bloomberg community.

One of B-ABLE’s most exciting successes is the creation of the upcoming Disability in Tech forum, which will bring together technologists and engineers with disabilities across the EMEA and AMER regions, and their allies. With Bloomberg’s support, members of B-ABLE created the event to celebrate the achievements of engineers with disabilities, and to provide the next generation with mentors who can provide guidance. 

Learn more about how our employees with disabilities are challenging perceptions and navigating through Bloomberg. 

Empowering the next generation

Born with esophageal atresia and conditions in her hands that affect tasks like typing and grasping, Hikaru Tasaki has turned her personal experience into a mission of empowerment. In 2020, Hikaru joined Bloomberg’s Tokyo office on the Human Resources Global People Services. She immediately got involved with B-ABLE with the goal of changing perceptions about disability inclusion.

Hikaru wasn’t just thinking about Bloomberg. As of 2023, nearly 75% of people with disabilities remained outside the workforce. Hikaru realized that, as a person with physical disabilities who worked at a major financial and tech company, she could personally demonstrate the possibilities for others like her. She explains, “Some parents have the assumption that their children with disabilities won’t be able to have a skilled job.”

Through B-ABLE, Hikaru helped organize events with parents of children with disabilities in the local community.  

“We host open office events where we invite these parents in the local community to hear from our employees with disabilities about their career journeys and the hiring process. Hopefully by sharing our stories, that people with developmental disorders and severe physical disabilities are working at a company like Bloomberg, we can negate that assumption and parents can see possibilities in their children’s future.”

It’s all about the culture

Bar Arviv, Engineering Team Lead, based in Bloomberg’s Tel Aviv office, had a breakthrough with his developmental stuttering disability experience just a few years ago when he changed his approach to his stutter: Instead of constantly trying to eliminate it, Bar instead embraced it as part of his identity.

For the first time in his life since childhood, Bar began speaking openly about his experience – shifting the focus from how he spoke to what he had to say. The difference gave him a deeper sense of confidence and self-acceptance.

To his delight, his Bloomberg colleagues responded with support and respect. “It’s about the culture. People here don’t rush me or try to finish my sentences; they listen and value what I have to say,” he says.  

As Bar’s confidence grew, so did his appreciation for the support from the Bloomberg community, and he wanted to give back: “While I was benefitting from the culture, I also felt a responsibility to help shape it. When I noticed there wasn’t a dedicated sub-community within B-ABLE for PWS [people who stutter], I created one, bringing together people who share similar experiences and raising awareness across the company.”

He wanted to be able to channel his personal journey into a mission to foster greater understanding and acceptance in the workplace. “Now, I lead annual sessions educating employees about effective interviewing and working with PWS,” Bar explains. “It’s important that people understand that stuttering is just a different way of speaking – it has nothing to do with intellect or capability. Just like we all learn about different communication styles, being mindful of different speaking patterns is just as important.”

Recognition for leading change

Living with muscular dystrophy, Tae Kyoon Kim initially found it difficult to envision a career path for himself due to mobility challenges. Through the Bloomberg Diversity Career Program — a training program that provides employment opportunities for people with disabilities facing commuting and mobility constraints —Tae has been able to work fully remotely since 2021 as a member of the Human Resources team in Tokyo.

Since entering the program, Tae has successfully managed multiple projects and transitioned to a full-time employee in April 2024. The ACE Awards, which honor businesses and organizations establishing new models for employing people with disabilities to contribute to corporate growth, recently recognized Tae’s remarkable journey with the 2024 ACE Diverse Abilities Award. 

“Tae is a role model for people with disabilities who thrive in a corporate environment. We hope this initiative will spread widely in Japan,” a representative from ACE says.

For Bloomberg to succeed, every employee needs to have the opportunities and resources to thrive. Hikaru, Tae, and Bar’s experiences embody the company’s ethos of inclusivity and commitment to celebrating diversity.