We’re living through a crisis where the lack of human contact makes digital options vital for connecting with loved ones, handling basic needs and doing business. For individuals with disabilities, however, those options are now more limited than ever.
Having to use a digital equivalent is especially concerning for people with disabilities because many rely on assistive technology to use the web. A screen reader, for example, enables users who are blind to navigate a site or app as the screen reader software reads the content aloud.
The unfortunate truth is that most sites and apps are not built with accessibility in mind and interact poorly -- or not at all -- with these types of assistive technologies. In fact, as many as 70% of websites (membership required) in various industries have no or limited accessibility.
Current State Of Digital Accessibility
In the last two years, there’s been a significant increase in complaints and lawsuits, which, in turn, has compelled the public and private sectors to make their digital assets accessible to all. Time and time again, circuit courts have ruled that the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites and mobile apps. This has increased legal and consumer pressure for businesses that are not ADA-compliant.
International standards are also being adopted into law, with websites and other digital formats mandated to offer accessibility. Canada is moving quickly with national and provincial laws, while the European Union is working on its proposed accessibility act.
So, there’s progress, but we still have a long way to go, as witnessed by a recent scan of financial institutions. A survey of software leaders from banks and financial services companies showed that most of their digital assets are not accessible to those with disabilities. Paying bills, depositing checks or making other transactions are necessary functions that cannot currently be accomplished in person for many. This certainly compounds the stress for a person with a disability. (I should note that Capital One, USAA, US Bank, BB&T and Ally Bank are ahead of the pack in making their websites and apps accessible.)
Our own scans of websites in the retail, entertainment, healthcare and travel industries also show trends of improvement, but many websites still contain accessibility gaps that would prevent someone who is blind from completing a necessary function.
Signs Of Hope
Given the recent crisis and the increased importance of digital channels, we were curious to find out what impact the coronavirus crisis was having on professionals spearheading their organization’s accessibility programs. In conjunction with the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) and the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (G3ict), we surveyed nearly 300 accessibility practitioners worldwide, most of whom are on the technical team or have responsibility for those programs.
The first finding is clear: Organizations that practice accessibility, at least in part, have been given an opportunity to expand their efforts due to increased attention on digital channels. More than 60% of respondents said COVID-19 increased the awareness of how important digital accessibility is, while 37% percent heard reports or claims that users with disabilities were having increased difficulty accessing their services during this time.
The survey also suggests a correlation between this increased awareness and action toward accessibility, with 42% saying the volume of their work increased in March and April and 47% expecting the volume of their accessibility work to increase over the next three months.
Closing The Empathy Gap
Teams responsible for making websites, apps and online content are starting to pay more attention to accessibility. The spike in demand for digital channels is likely to persist beyond the current crisis, and this will permanently accelerate the importance of this channel in winning this often-overlooked market.
If so, we may be able to leapfrog one of the main hurdles organizations face that prevents them from making accessibility for all a reality: I call it the "empathy gap." I’ve worked with hundreds of private and public sector companies, and this lack of knowledge or empathy around experiences for people with disabilities is a common pattern. Of course, if you don’t have someone in your life who is deaf or blind, it’s understandable that their challenges may not be top of mind.
Overcoming this unconscious bias is essential to success on digital channels and was previously driven by legal action or complaining customers. As of late, it’s the complete reliance on digital devices, brought on by sheltering in place, that's helping to close this empathy gap.
My wish for this Global Accessibility Awareness Day is that among the many lessons we will learn from this crisis, the push for digital accessibility will have the same lasting impact as the overall switch to digital. My advice to any organization with digital channels is to embrace the opportunities inherent in leading rather than following and raising awareness with real, sustainable action.
Stay tuned for my next few articles, where I'll focus on the practices that make accessibility sustainable and how to make it easy to integrate into your agile processes in a way that reinforces your organization’s increased focus on digital and DevSecOps.
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May 21, 2020 at 06:08PM
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Will The Current Crisis Give Digital Accessibility An Awareness Boost? - Forbes
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