Today’s post is called “Why I cringe every time I hear a demand for Return to the Office (RTO).” Citations in the first comment. People with disabilities thrived in jobs in 2023, in large part because more of them could…
People with disabilities are tired of having to waste our resources and time suing people for equal rights that the Constitution and federal law are SUPPOSED to automatically provide to us
8200 lawsuits*. Over double what was filed ten years ago. That is the number of ADA lawsuits filed in 2023 by people with disabilities who were discriminated against. Over 90 % of these cases are won by the plaintiff.** That’s…
Accessibility Meme: Question: When is the worst time to do your first accessibility audit?
Question: When is the worst time to do your first accessibility audit? Answer: Immediately after you receive a demand letter from a law firm No matter how good your accessibility maturity is, something will turn up in an audit. –…
There is no accessibility ‘quick fix’ Good accessibility requires systemic culture change
There is no accessibility fairy. No tool will make a website WCAG compliant with only one line of code changed (and a monthly payment, indefinitely of course) On multiple occasions, I’ve had salespeople ask me for one of those “completed…
Accessibility Meme: Where to Start with an Accessibility Review
People always ask me where to start with an accessibility review when they can’t afford an external auditor. I always tell them start with these two things: keyboard access and color. Why those two? Well for starters they require different…
Accessibility bugs are a GOOD thing. It means that someone got far enough along in your product to find a bug, cared enough to report it and will continue using your product more easily after it is fixed
Most people think product bugs are a bad thing. In the area of accessibility, that is frequently not the case. The key is how the company responds to the bug: 1) Make it easy for the bug to be reported…
Accessibility Meme: Organizations that claim to care about disability inclusion
If you or your organization: 1) Sell accessibility audit, remediation, or training services 2) Provide DEIA services or training 3) Claim to be inclusive, regardless of the type of product or service your organization provides 4) Receive *ANY* public money…
There is a reason W3C and WCAG don’t mention disability in any of their standards. All product accessibility efforts must focus on assistive technology, and not the medical conditions people with disabilities have
People with vision loss can use magnification, screen readers, or the combination of the two. People with dexterity issues might use a mouse, keyboard, or alternative keyboard. You can’t tell anything from a person’s diagnosis about how they will interact…
Accessibility Meme: Many companies just getting started at accessibility focus only on critical bugs and lose momentum and drive to complete fixing the remainder of the bugs.
Many companies just getting started at accessibility focus only on critical bugs and lose momentum and drive to complete fixing the remainder of the bugs. My research testing shows that approach is problematic for two reasons: One: It is more…
Vicarious Discrimination Contributes to the High Rate of Burnout in the Accessibility Professionals’ Field.
Have you heard the phrase vicarious discrimination before? Vicarious discrimination is when you witness either first or second-hand discrimination against another individual that belongs to the same underrepresented community that you do. So, for example, if you are helping someone…