Creating a Culture of Inclusion
Business Equalizing Principles
Bridging the digital divide is about closing the gap between leadership understanding of Accessibility, and management implementation of Accessibility, through effective productivity, inclusion, and communication strategies.A culture of inclusion is building a foundation where differences are not only acknowledged, but embraced.
For maximum impact on a company's success, diversity and inclusion must be embedded into all areas of the business to transform these ideals into core business principles.
Strategic Roles
Decision makers must understand how to integrate accessibility into the project life cycle and ensure quality control.
Overseers must be trained in allocating accessible resources, monitoring accessibility testing, and scheduling accessibility improvements for implementation.
Creators must understand the end-user experience, and be trained in WCAG implementation techniques and W3C/ARIA enhanced functionality.
Ableist Attitudes
In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift affecting the development of new legislation and policies concerning persons with disabilities;From segregation to integration,
From institutionalizing to mainstreaming,
and from the medical model of disability being viewed as a condition to be treated, to the social model of disability focusing on the removal of disabling barriers that hinder participation in society.
The Legal Value Of Accessibility
A charity model treats disability as a misfortune, one that demands the better angels of our humanity to successfully address.
A disability is a health condition dealt with by medical professionals and in need of being fixed or cured. People with disability are thought to be abnormal and a problem of the individual.
From this point of view, disability is a tragedy and people with disability are to be pitied. The medical model of disability is all about what a person cannot do and cannot be.
From this point of view, disability is a tragedy and people with disability are to be pitied. The medical model of disability is all about what a person cannot do and cannot be.
A social model perspective does not deny the reality of impairment nor its impact on the individual, but rather it challenges the physical, attitudinal, communication and social environment to accommodate impairments as an expected incident of human diversity.
The social model of disability suggests that the unique exclusion and other hardships faced by disabled people are not innately the result of a misfortune in people's physical bodies. Rather, they are the result of biases sown over time into the fabric of society.
If societies did not decide that it is normal and preferable to exceed a certain threshold of sight, hearing, physical strength, intelligence, preferred behavior, etc., we might not be talking about disabilities. Disability itself is thus thought of here as a social condition, similar to the way we often talk of race, ethnicity, and gender.
The social model of disability suggests that the unique exclusion and other hardships faced by disabled people are not innately the result of a misfortune in people's physical bodies. Rather, they are the result of biases sown over time into the fabric of society.
If societies did not decide that it is normal and preferable to exceed a certain threshold of sight, hearing, physical strength, intelligence, preferred behavior, etc., we might not be talking about disabilities. Disability itself is thus thought of here as a social condition, similar to the way we often talk of race, ethnicity, and gender.
Research shows that unconscious bias against disabled people is common, but experts say it is difficult to recognize. Take the quiz and think about how you would typically react to the situation. Then read how people in the disability community feel about the same situation.
Washington Post: Take our quiz to understand disability bias
Washington Post: Take our quiz to understand disability bias
Human Limitations
Almost everyone will experience a disability at some point in their lives; whether due to aging, a chronic disease, illness, or an injury. With seniors and people with disabilities representing 40% of income over the coming years, a focus on access and inclusion is a smart and sustainable business investment.The Canadian Survey on Disability
Visual disabilities range from mild or moderate vision impairments in one or both eyes (low vision or partial sight), to substantial and uncorrectable loss of vision in both eyes (blindness).
Some people have reduced or lack of sensitivity to certain colours (colour blindness), or increased sensitivity towards excessive brightness in colours. These variations in perception of colours and brightness can be independent of the visual acuity. It is estimated that about 8 percent of the male population, and about 1 percent of females, experience colour blindness.
Some people have reduced or lack of sensitivity to certain colours (colour blindness), or increased sensitivity towards excessive brightness in colours. These variations in perception of colours and brightness can be independent of the visual acuity. It is estimated that about 8 percent of the male population, and about 1 percent of females, experience colour blindness.
Auditory disabilities range from mild or moderate hearing impairments in one or both ears (hard of hearing), to substantial and uncorrectable impairment of hearing in both ears (deafness).
Hearing loss increases with aging. It is easy to assume that people with hearing and speech loss do not experience many challenges on the Web given it is mostly a visual medium. This is not the case. Video is an obvious challenge for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, who can not hear speech.
To support people who cannot hear, videos should have Closed Captions, subtitles and/or transcripts.
Hearing loss increases with aging. It is easy to assume that people with hearing and speech loss do not experience many challenges on the Web given it is mostly a visual medium. This is not the case. Video is an obvious challenge for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, who can not hear speech.
To support people who cannot hear, videos should have Closed Captions, subtitles and/or transcripts.
Physical disabilities include weakness, limitations of muscular control (such as involuntary movements including tremors, lack of coordination, or paralysis), limitations of sensation, joint problems (such as arthritis), pain that impedes movement, or missing limbs.
People with physical disabilities need an alternative to the mouse for input. Website developers must ensure the site is operable with a keyboard. Some of these input devices may be hands free devices like a head pointer to make selections, puff and sip morse code, voice recognition, eye tracking with virtual keyboard, and mouthstick.
People with physical disabilities need an alternative to the mouse for input. Website developers must ensure the site is operable with a keyboard. Some of these input devices may be hands free devices like a head pointer to make selections, puff and sip morse code, voice recognition, eye tracking with virtual keyboard, and mouthstick.
Cognitive and neurological disabilities involve disorders of any part of the nervous system, including the brain and the peripheral nervous system. This can impact how well people hear, move, see, speak, understand information, and inability to remember or focus on large amounts of information.
Cognitive and neurological disabilities do not necessarily affect the intelligence of a person.
Cognitive and neurological disabilities do not necessarily affect the intelligence of a person.
Age related or temporary disabilities will effect everyone at some point in their life. When driving you need hands free devices. When in a noisy environment you need text and images.
If you are not aging, or you can guarantee that you will never have an accident or some debilitating disease, or will never be in an environmental situation where you cannot see or hear, then you need not be concerned about accessibility.
In the next few decades we will see unparalleled growth in the number of people becoming elderly. As we age, we experience increasing impairments that affect how we interact with computers and websites. The next few decades will see an unparalleled growth in the number of people becoming elderly compared with any other period in human history.
Designing products that are easier for older people to use is similar to designing for people with disabilities. That is, websites, applications, and tools that are accessible to people with disabilities are not just more accessible to older users, but to all users as well. Web Accessibility is essential For Some, but useful For All.
If you are not aging, or you can guarantee that you will never have an accident or some debilitating disease, or will never be in an environmental situation where you cannot see or hear, then you need not be concerned about accessibility.
In the next few decades we will see unparalleled growth in the number of people becoming elderly. As we age, we experience increasing impairments that affect how we interact with computers and websites. The next few decades will see an unparalleled growth in the number of people becoming elderly compared with any other period in human history.
Designing products that are easier for older people to use is similar to designing for people with disabilities. That is, websites, applications, and tools that are accessible to people with disabilities are not just more accessible to older users, but to all users as well. Web Accessibility is essential For Some, but useful For All.