August 18, 2025
This summer, Illumina was recognized on the 2025 Disability Index, making the company a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion by Disability:IN. Illumina received one of the top scores in the US. This is the fourth consecutive year Illumina has received this recognition.
“As a company with a mission to improve human health, we take great pride in providing a safe and inclusive work environment for all employees,” says Pat Leckman, chief people officer of Illumina. “Our talent programs reflect the importance of combatting discrimination while also enabling our talented colleagues to help achieve our mission. Inclusion is at the core of our purpose and essential to the work we do, the communities we serve, the partners we choose, and the teams we build. Being named to this list is a testament to our practice of embedding disability inclusion in our recruitment efforts, company communications, and overall employee experience.”
Practicing disability inclusion means providing Illumina employees with adaptive equipment, social outlets, educational forums, and more. In the last year, employees were invited to a Disability Inclusion in STEM event featuring speaker Tiffany Yu, CEO and founder of Diversability. The company also launched a Disability Allyship Toolkit, an employee reference guide to the unique perspectives of people with disabilities. And at the Power2Inspire PowerHouseGames at Granta Park, UK, employee volunteers recently served as captains for teams playing adapted sports, such as seated volleyball and bell ball.
A constellation of employee resource groups (ERGs) at Illumina not only bring people together, they serve to raise awareness and foster change. The company has more than a dozen ERGs, two of which provide resources and support to employees with visible or invisible disabilities and neurodiversity, as well as to caretakers and allies: UNIQUE, based in the UK, and Enabled, based in the US.
“ERGs are an important part of our fabric,” says Evan Matzen, Illumina’s global head of corporate social responsibility. “ERG members often lead the way in building a supportive, collaborative, and empathetic workplace, helping to amplify Illumina’s positive impact.”
Ongoing programs include training employees to be neurodiversity and ADHD champions at Illumina, and organizing campaigns around Learning Disability Week, Neurodiversity Week, Autism Awareness Month, and Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month.
