Communicating the Social Responsibility of Big Business in Russia: Assessing How Large Companies Report Their Engagement in Social Welfare for People with Disabilities

Abstract

This essay investigates how large companies in Russia communicate their engagement with the social welfare of people with disabilities. We analysed non-financial reports and studied how people with disabilities are addressed with regard to internal social policies and corporate social responsibility activities. We asked about the content and meaning of the reporting and built a typology of companies’ reported activities regarding welfare and inclusion in the workplace and in wider society. We attribute differences between the company groups to legacies of the Soviet welfare system, the characteristics of industrial sectors and the nature of state–business relationships in Russia.