Adapting for success – a look at our employee resource group for people with disabilities, caregivers and allies

Adapting for success - a look at our employee resource group for people with disabilities, caregivers and allies

Ash Rootes was struggling to connect with colleagues in her first year working at RTX. She was working remotely and had not met any of her team members in person.

In December 2023, Rootes, who is neurodiverse, found other employees who felt the same through virtual meetings with RTX ADAPT - the company's employee resource group for people with disabilities, caregivers and allies. Together, they launched a neurodiverse community Teams chat as a place to gain support and ask questions.

Then something clicked.

"It's totally changed my personal experience with working," said Rootes, a technical support senior analyst at Collins Aerospace, an RTX business. "I went from really struggling with depression and feeling totally alone to having this huge network of people who understand me and want to build me up. It's made my role so much more of a positive experience."

Now, Rootes leads the ERG's neurodiversity advocacy group and moderates the Teams chat, which is active daily and holds regular lunch-and-learn Zoom sessions for members. It's one way the RTX ADAPT community is creating new ways to support employees in their lives and at work.

"It's about removing barriers and recognizing that disabled employees are as valuable as non-disabled employees."

Alison Faye Johnson | Global Chair | RTX ADAPT

Removing barriers

Many of the group's objectives are based on requests from employees, and many of those come by way of the group's annual membership survey. It's part of the group leaders' strategy to listen closely to the community.

"We are really going out to our community and saying; 'How can we help you, what do you need?'" said global chair Alison Faye Johnson, a senior global trade manager, at Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business. "We have become a center of excellence for employee advocacy. It's about removing barriers and recognizing that disabled employees are as valuable as non-disabled employees."

A key part of that advocacy is creating dedicated, comfortable rooms at sites across the company for employees to privately manage their health and wellness needs. The group is working with the company's facilities team to create these spaces where employees request them. The group is also collaborating with facilities to produce site accessibility maps across RTX.

"This is truly making work a place where you can come and not be stressed out about having to take care of yourself," said Johnson.

An equitable workplace

In order to make it easier to use for all, the group is partnering with the company to streamline RTX's system for requesting reasonable accommodations - a broad term for services and modifications that create an equitable workplace for employees with disabilities. They include interpretive services for hearing-impaired employees, modified keyboards and voice-to-text software, and modified work schedules during recovery from injury or illness.

RTX ADAPT also encourages employees with disabilities to self-identify and will hold lunch-and-learn events to explain why it is important, said Johnson. Better data creates a more accurate picture of the employee population, which in turn allows the company to provide and enhance programs and resources.

The ERG's consistent visibility and work in these areas has helped create positive change at RTX, said Melissa Pettit, the group's global co-chair.

"These things don't happen without awareness," said Pettit, a senior finance manager at Collins Aerospace. "If people aren't aware, how can they make any of this happen? If they are aware, it's not hard to get involved."

RTX ADAPT is also focused on collaborating with the company's other eight ERGs to create virtual and in-person events "because we want people to understand they are supported in multiple ways," said Johnson. "This disabled community is one you could come in and out of at any time. People don't understand it's not a stigma anymore."

For Johnson, who is neurodiverse, this work is personal.

"I want people to know this is not holding me back," said Johnson. "This is not detrimental. I am succeeding and so can you."

"These things don't happen without awareness. If people aren't aware, how can they make any of this happen? If they are aware, it's not hard to get involved."

Melissa Pettit | Global co-chair | RTX ADAPT

"I'm not alone"

Now, nearly a year after it launched, RTX ADAPT's neurodiverse advocacy group and its Teams chat continue to see its participation rise organically through word of mouth with employees.

While keeping their conversations in the chat confidential, the members share advice on navigating technical processes, discuss working with various communication styles, and share personal experiences from work and at home - all to help each other through challenges and build relationships.

"The chat gives people an outlet that they may not have had before. So not only does it provide a space for connection, but it provides a space no matter what's going on," said Rootes.

The consistent support and new friendships Rootes has made in the group continue to be important to her - professionally and personally.

"The biggest thing is that people want me there," she said. "I have people who count on me to show up and be their support as well. I feel like I'm not alone."

See how our employee resource groups help us build a more inclusive culture.