Labor Secretary Tom Perez Addresses Harkin International Disability Employment Summit
December 12, 2016
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On December 8 and 9, high-level representatives and grassroots implementers from around the world convened in Washington, D.C. for the inaugural Harkin International Disability Employment Summit - an event designed to identify and create strategies to increase the employment opportunities for people with disabilities around the world.
Among the event's speakers was U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, who discussed numerous efforts led by the Department of Labor and the importance of "fielding a full team" in the workplace. Summit organizers, who include disability rights advocate and former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, endeavored to link international leaders in the field of disability employment to share best practices. "By galvanizing and leveraging a selection of global leaders who have been successful at employing people with all types of disabilities, or adapting policies to encourage others to do so, we'll begin to close the chasm between people with disabilities, and productive, dignified work," wrote the organizers.
