While local practices have contributed to fragmented accessibility paths in the past, new best practices allow organizations to scale accessibility solutions across physical and digital borders.-BY JEREMIAH PRINCE
Sometimes, it takes a shock to the system to accelerate change. While digital accessibility had been an increasing area of priority for businesses in the years leading up to the arrival of COVID, the sudden leap to a remote-first and virtual world made the limited scope and scalability of pre-COVID solutions an issue for everyone. Abruptly, ensuring equality and quality of access to the digital world became a level one priority. According to a summer 2022 survey from Forrester, some 36 percent of companies now have a top-level commitment to digital accessibility in place, up from just 5 percent of firms surveyed in 2021.
Toward that end, companies have been making significant changes to improve digital accessibility on a global scale. In the paragraphs ahead, some of the international solutions to local accessibility issues will be discussed, along with best practices for international accessibility training and certification. Finally, some of the ways firms can access global expertise to advance their digital accessibility goals will be covered.
One of the troubling reveals of the COVID era was how unevenly distributed digital accessibility solutions are around the world. More than 1 billion people globally live with some type of disability and need accessibility support – this is not a small issue! Yet even in countries that offer strong accessibility supports in the physical world, digital spaces are frequently neglected. Further, even when good solutions are available, they may be more rapidly adopted by some industries than others.
For example, the financial industry has made real strides forward with digital inclusivity and is a leader in digital accessibility worldwide. Grocery stores? Not so much. Thus, when COVID moved millions to delivery-preferred situations, consumers found that they could review their banking details at all hours, on all devices, and in practically every imaginable format… but they couldn’t clearly navigate online grocery ordering, get accurate in-stock information, or easily schedule delivery services.
Another digital accessibility issue that emerged was distribution of access from the top to the bottom of the organization and vendor chain. While many corporate head offices, regional headquarters, and top-level suppliers were equipped to provide digital accessibility, local offices and smaller suppliers lacked the tools, time, and resources to make the appropriate modifications. Plus, the further afield and down the supply chain things traveled, the less likely it was for employees and vendors to understand the accessibility accommodations needed or how to provide them. Locally, on a day-to-day basis, they may not have encountered anyone asking for digital accessibility. Yet to compete on level footing in an increasingly globalized world, even the smallest parts of a firm (and it’s supply chain) must be able to deliver to a consistent standard.
Best practices for
international
accessibility training and certification
One way to solve this problem of uneven distribution of accessibility understanding and implementation is for organizations to do more to train and educate their people. Fortunately, this training needn’t be built from scratch. Organizations like the Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES) and the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) offer a number of free training resources on Universal Design principles can help fill in education gaps.
For those who need certification, the IAAP offers five different certifications covering different aspects of digital accessibility design, document creation, and information management. Each certification is good for three years. Further, there are continuing education modules available that align with the latest releases from G3ict, the global consortium for inclusive communication technologies.
Accessing global
expertise to advance digital accessibility
Along with accessing training and education from internationally recognized institutes, firms of all sizes also have the opportunity to lean on global expertise to advance digital accessibility.
One example of this is the work being done by and sponsored by Microsoft. While the company is funding a number of Universal Design Learning modules at universities across America to help train the next generation of developers on accessibility principles, it is also partnering with overseas institutions to ensure that existing tools are put to full use. In Britain, the company has partnered with the U.K. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to train more than 26,000 work coaches on modern accessibility tools so that they can help job seekers with disabilities and local companies understand the resources available to them. Even more broadly, Microsoft has a special supplier toolkit available that global vendors can access for training on digital accessibility tools and platform features within the Microsoft suite of products and partners, so that smaller and localized vendors can raise themselves up to meet international standards of accommodation.
Even established companies can lean on Microsoft’s accessibility tools to improve connections between global team members. In late 2021, the firm added ASL support to its video calling system, and it’s AI for Accessibility program is being used by firms like Accenture to ensure that all their content published online can be appropriately read by e-readers and other assistive devices. In fact, Accenture estimates that thanks to this tool and other Microsoft 365 features they are now requiring their vendors to adopt, the company will be fully digitally accessible from top to bottom around the world within three years.
Concluding thoughts
Digital accessibility is a major issue for companies around the world, and the global COVID response highlighted for everyone just how much work there is to do in this area. Fortunately, there are resources available to help both large firms and small vendors make improvements on a global scale. By recognizing where there is uneven distribution and adoption of tools, raising the education and credential level of support staff, and leaning on global expertise from large tech firms like Microsoft, companies of all sizes can improve their connections with their team members, customers, and prospective buyers who need (and appreciate) full digital accessibility.