Accessibility is the “A” being added to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Accessibility means providing resources, support and potentially accommodations to help those with disabilities thrive in the workplace, just as we would the dominant group.
Accessibility is Important
There are several reasons accessibility is important to consider:
- Disability prevalence: Disability is more common than many people realize. Approximately 16% of the global population has a disability. In the United States, 27% of adults have some type of disability.
- Disabilities being non-apparent: 80% of disabilities are non-apparent, meaning they are not immediately visible or able to be identified by others. These disabilities can include chronic illnesses, mental health conditions and conditions like chronic pain or epilepsy. It’s important to be aware that not all disabilities are readily visible, and empathy and support are vital for individuals with invisible disabilities. There is no way to know for certain who’s disabled and who’s non-disabled. Chances are you work with someone with a disability and may not even know it.
- Disability unemployment: Sadly, folks with disabilities have double the unemployment rate of those who are non-disabled. Given a tight labor market, hiring someone with a disability is a smart and necessary way to tap into an underserved population.
Barriers to Accessibility
In an interview with Catarina Rivera, content creator, public speaker, DEIA consultant and founder of Blindish Latina, she cited the most common barriers to workplace accessibility being ableism, discomfort with the topic of disability and the myth that disabled people are not in the workplace. Only 21% of disabled people disclose their disabilities to HR. Rivera shares, “there is a false idea that accessibility is expensive or complicated to create. Oftentimes, it’s free or low-cost and it’s about providing flexibility, different ways of communicating and inclusive facilitation. Also, the idea that providing accommodations is all an employer needs to do is flawed when that’s actually the minimum standard and not the ceiling. There’s so much further to go from there.”
Employers Need to Own Accessibility
Rivera recommends that employers create an accessibility team or make a commitment to accessibility and require accessibility plans for every event or large meeting. They need to invest in inclusion efforts and seek support, not solely relying on disabled employees to lead this work in addition to their full-time roles. The focus needs to shift from disability disclosure to disability inclusion.
For executive leaders this is even more important. Rivera suggests, “start by asking, do we have any openly disabled executives? Make the financial investment in inclusion. Engage in your own learning journey and demonstrate vulnerability. For human resources leaders, create a clear and understandable reasonable accommodations process. Support employees to figure out solutions together. Create accessibility guidelines for your work and employee engagement initiatives. Require accessibility plans and hire and promote disabled talent.”
The middle bands of organizations are often left out of diversity work. Rivera says the antidote to this problem is to ”recognize their importance within DEI work. Use inclusive, non-ableist language and be willing to self-correct in the moment when you slip up. Mistakes happen to everyone. Managers need to be familiar with the reasonable accommodations process and have strategies and resources for supporting their staff like the Job Accommodation Network.”
Marketing teams are critical to communicating inclusively. They need to create accessible social media posts, use closed captions and alt text for image descriptions and share transcripts for videos. Color contrasts and larger fonts can help those with vision disabilities, for example. For product teams, “design with the disability community, not for,” advocates Rivera. Avoid simulations; instead, use disabled testers and pay them fairly. Make sure your product integrates with assistive technology and has accessible packaging.
Rivera says when you design with accessibility in mind from the beginning, you can avoid costly exclusionary mistakes. Start by asking, can those with disabilities access this product or service? How could we make this product or service more accessible?
These recommendations emphasize the importance of fostering a more inclusive and accessible workplace culture, where diversity and disability inclusion are not just checkboxes but rather are integral to the organization’s values and operations. This approach benefits both employees and the organization as a whole.
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