Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) last month was an important reminder of the need to make digital products and services accessible to everyone, including disabled people.
When designed with inclusion mind, technology can remove barriers and bring huge benefits for disabled people. When the needs of disabled people are not considered, however, tech can make everyday life more difficult. Business Disability Forum research, ‘Technology: What do disabled consumers choose to buy and why’, found that less than half of respondents felt confident that they had purchased the right technology or entertainment media to meet their needs. Over a third of respondent said that their choice of technology was limited because of their disability or access needs.
Disability Smart Technology Award
At the recent Disability Smart Awards 2023, Business Disability Forum celebrated organisations that have taken a fresh approach to inclusion and are keen to share their learnings. Disability Smart Technology was one of the 10 award categories.
The award recognised organisations that had developed technology which had improved the life opportunities and experiences of disabled people, in the workplace, as a consumer or in wider society. BDF was particularly looking for the innovative use of existing technology as well as teams and business which had developed new digital or assistive technology products within the last 18 months.
This year’s award went to Amazon for widespread innovation that has benefitted disabled customers globally. In their feedback, the judging panel said:
“We were impressed by the sheer breadth of Amazon’s innovation in this space and the truly global impact of their work. This includes redesigning and launching the accessibility section of their site to make it easier for customers to find the devices and services that are right for them. They have also developed Amazon Echo and Alexa-enabled devices so that they can be controlled by gestures and text-to-speech. Video based sign language training has also been introduced for staff.
Judges also commented on Amazon’s focus on “using feedback from employees and customers to inform the design, development, and delivery of products and services.”
XRAI Glass was highly commended in the same category for their work to create a pair of smart glasses which can turn speech into text in real-time. The technology makes it possible for people who are deaf or who have hearing loss to take part in conversations and not miss out.
Find out more about Amazon and XRAI glasses work on the Disability Smart Technology Award 2023 page.
How to design technology which works for everyone
Both Amazon and XRAI Glass have developed technology which has the potential to significantly impact the lives of disabled people in a positive way but accessibility isn’t always about making big changes. It’s often about a mindset and realising that what benefits disabled people will often benefit many other people too. Who doesn’t find captions useful when they are watching a video in a busy place, for example?
Here are 5 tips on how to design technology which works for everyone from Business Disability Forum’s Technology Taskforce Manager, Lucy Ruck.
- Design inclusively from the start – Think people first. If you design your tech with disabled people in mind, you won’t have to go through the painful and costly process of trying to retrofit accessible solutions. Think about the contrast of colours and how the tech will work for people need to navigate using a keyboard only navigation. Also make sure you add alt text to verbally explain images to anyone using a screen reader. Use headings to make text easier to follow and captions on videos. These are essential for people with disabilities, but make life easier for everyone.
- Not a once and done – This isn’t as simple as do it once and your products will be accessible. Constantly think about how you can improve functionality to make it work for a diverse audience.
- Digital is broad – Technology affects every area of a business. Think about your websites, internal systems, video content, marketing materials and social media. By ensuring you are being inclusive, you are reaching a wider audience.
- Accessibility isn’t just one person’s job – To do it well, it needs to be part of the organisation’s culture. One website developer with a fantastic understanding of the latest accessibility guidelines, cannot be expected to intercept every inaccessible Word document or PDF that is loaded onto the website. It is everyone’s responsibility to think about it. It has to be cross organisational and in every business area.
- Don’t lose heart – Things don’t always go to plan, and this can be tough. Try not to be too disheartened by it. Measure what you do and show where you’ve made progress. It can take time to get things moving, but regularly tracking your progress will help.
The Technology Taskforce is a group of senior IT accessibility individuals from leading UK and global organisations, working together to improve the use of inclusive design and accessible technology. Taskforce membership is free to Business Disability Forum Partners, and Members can join for an additional fee. Find out more about the Technology Taskforce.
