Disability ERGs in Thailand can help businesses strengthen employee voice, identify workplace barriers, build peer connection and turn employee experience into practical organisational change.
Why TBDN members should join PurpleSpace in Bangkok on 23 September
What can businesses in Thailand learn from disability Employee Resource Groups around the world?
Disability Employee Resource Groups can help businesses strengthen employee voice, identify workplace barriers, build peer connection and turn employee experience into practical organisational change. Global ERG experience can also help businesses in Thailand explore approaches that may work within their own workplace context.
A disability Employee Resource Group, or ERG, is an employee network that creates a space for disabled employees, colleagues and allies to connect, share experiences and contribute to workplace inclusion.
On 23 September, the Thailand Business and Disability Network is partnering with PurpleSpace for an in-person Thailand Hub as part of PurpleSpace’s 2026 Global Disability ERG Summit.
The session gives businesses in Thailand an opportunity to learn from global disability ERG specialists, exchange ideas with peers and consider what could work in their own workplaces.
For TBDN, this is a clear example of the value membership can provide. It gives businesses access to global learning that they can consider, adapt and apply within their own organisations.
What is PurpleSpace?
PurpleSpace is a global professional development and networking hub focused on disability Employee Resource Groups and employee networks. They work with the ILO and global employers like Google, Coca Cola, HSBC, Shell, and Sanofi, bringing together network and resource group leaders, allies and practitioners across sectors to share experience, develop capability and strengthen the impact of workplace disability networks.
PurpleSpace describes its mission as building disability confidence ‘from the inside out‘ by helping organisations learn directly from disabled employees and by supporting the people who lead and develop employee networks.
It has developed dedicated resources, learning and development programmes and practical approaches to the growth and sustainability of disability ERGs and networks. Its global work is specifically focused on helping organisations move from good intentions towards stronger employee networks and cultural change.
This specialist focus can help organisations move from discussing disability inclusion to creating practical ways for employees to participate in workplace change.
TBDN members have already explored this locally. At a recent TBDN event, IHG and Seagate shared how employee networks can strengthen engagement, connection and belonging.
The Thailand Hub takes that conversation further by connecting local experience with international practice.
Why do disability ERGs matter for businesses in Thailand?
Workplaces in Thailand vary widely in culture, structure and approaches to employee engagement.
Many workplaces already have informal peer support, employee communities and strong working relationships. The opportunity is not simply to adopt an international ERG model.
Instead, organisations can explore how existing employee relationships and employees’ experiences can contribute to a more intentional and sustainable channel for employee voice, organisational learning and practical change.
PurpleSpace brings international experience.
TBDN brings the Thai business context.
Bringing these perspectives together allows organisations to compare global practice with the realities of their own workplaces.
What does a disability ERG do?
An employee network is not simply a social group.
When appropriately supported, disability ERGs and employee networks can create an important channel between employee experience and organisational decision-making.
They can help organisations:
- Listen to employees with disabilities, neurodivergence and relevant lived experience.
- Identify workplace barriers that may otherwise remain invisible.
- Build connection, belonging and peer support.
- Give employees opportunities to contribute to organisational change.
- Create stronger relationships between employees, managers, allies and senior leaders.
- Support learning about disability across the wider organisation.
- Help turn inclusion commitments into practical action.
This is particularly important because organisations do not all start from the same place. Some already have established disability or neurodiversity networks. Others may have employee interest but no formal structure.
Some may be asking whether an ERG is the right approach at all.
And some may simply be at stage zero.
All of those organisations have something to gain from the conversation.
Do you need an existing disability ERG to attend?
No. Some organisations already have disability or neurodiversity networks.
Others have interested employees but no formal structure.
Some are still asking whether an ERG is the right approach for their organisation.
The Thailand Hub is designed to be relevant at each of these stages.
The session creates space to explore practical questions such as:
- Where do we start?
- How do we build employee participation?
- How should the experiences of disabled and neurodivergent employees inform the network?
- What makes an ERG sustainable?
- How do we connect employee voice with business priorities?
- How do we make sure an employee network has real impact rather than becoming another initiative that sits on the side?
Learning from organisations and practitioners that have already worked through these questions can help businesses avoid reinventing the wheel.
Why this matters for TBDN members
TBDN exists to help businesses move disability inclusion from intention to action. That means membership should be about more than networking. It should give organisations opportunities to learn, ask questions, compare approaches and access expertise that can strengthen their own practice.
The PurpleSpace partnership is a clear example of that approach. Rather than expecting Thai businesses to navigate every new inclusion challenge alone, TBDN can help bring global perspectives into the local business conversation — and create a space where those perspectives can be tested against the realities of Thai workplaces.
For members, that means access to a conversation they may not otherwise have easy access to. And because the session is taking place in Bangkok with participation from companies throughout the region, participants can connect global learning with local peer exchange.
From global expertise to local action
PurpleSpace’s global reputation is valuable because of the depth and breadth of its focus on disability ERGs and networks. But the goal of the Thailand Hub is not to give Thai businesses a lecture about international best practice. It is to have a practical conversation.
- Bring the challenge your organisation is facing.
- Bring the question that makes you feel unsure.
- Bring the idea you are considering.
Or simply come because you want to understand what a disability ERG could mean for your organisation.
As Catt from Seagate, a TBDN member, recently reflected:
‘ERGs benefit everyone, not just one group…’
Organisations do not need a perfect structure before they begin. An employee raising a question, identifying a barrier or asking for stronger connection can be enough to start a wider conversation.
The Thailand Hub gives organisations a space to bring those questions, learn from others and consider practical next steps for their own workplace.
Join the PurpleSpace Global Disability ERG Summit: Thailand Hub with TBDN
- Date : Wednesday, 23 September 2026
- Time : 9.00 to 10.30 am, GMT+7
- Venu : Crowne Plaza Bangkok Lumpini Park, Bangkok
- Cost : Free for TBDN members
It is particularly relevant to:
- HR and people leaders
- DEI, sustainability and inclusion professionals
- Disability ERG and employee network leaders
- Employee engagement and internal communications teams
- Managers supporting disabled employees and allies
- Organisations exploring how to establish or strengthen an employee network
Bring a question, challenge or idea from your organisation and explore what stronger employee voice and disability inclusion could look like in your workplace.