Definition
Accessibility refers mostly often to a 'disabled' persons access to services or products. To be accessbile means to be able to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions and enjoy the same services as a person without limitations equally effectively and with substantially equivalent ease of use. And this simple definition hides a problem; there is no agreed definitions of disability within countries, organizations or between people. So perhaps remove the word disability and try 'different from the genuiley accepted norm'. This would certainly help as it would cover for example the inequitable treament of women in the design (accessibility) of public transport as detailed by Caroline Criado Perez in "Invisible Women"
Our Proposal
- The whole business benefits when individuals are empowered to work to their potential. Moreover, with accessibility features built into Teams and the Microsoft suite, it is in everyone’s interest to get involved and participate.
- Understand the accessibility needs in your business, over 1 billion people in the world have an accessibility requirement.
- Involve the right people. Work with people in the business that will benefit the most. Understand from them how technology can enable rather than hinder their role. It doesn’t stop with those with visible accessibility requirements. Enquire whomelse would like to participate.
- Increase accessibility awareness. Having accessibility technology is a start, but it must be accessible. So consider how to improve your business culture, not just technology.
- Thinking about and acting to support accessibility is an opportunity to see things through the eyes of someone unlike yourself. I'm ashmed to say I didn't get it, that was, till I started wearing glasses for reading and when in restaurants, with my glasses not on hand, the menu was unreadable in restaurant lighting. I felt that this restaurant didn't want my custom, I thought that this restaurant was judging me as not being the sort of person that they wanted to serve. This can't have been the brand message that the restaurant wanted to portray.
- Accessibility isn't just a box ticking thing, a PC thing, a snowflake thing, its extending care to all those people you are lucky enough to have as customers, employees, colleagues, or family.