What People Think Accessibility is and What Accessibility Actually is

Two columns, each with five items in it. First column titled What People Think Accessibility is: 1. Eliminating complicated features 2. owned by DEI, Compliance and Accessibility Teams 3. Disability "Days" 4.Hiring People with Disabilities 5. Unnecessary, because "we don't have disabled customers" Second Column titled What Accessibility Actually is: 1. Using Disabled Personas, Performing Usability and Accessibility Audit. 2. Injecting Disability Inclusion Throughout the Organization 3. Baking Accessibility into all Organizational Activities, Every day. 4. Getting Disabled Employees Accommodations 5. User Research- Finding Disabled Customers, and Telling their Stories.
When people talk to accessibility professionals about how accessibility is about eliminating complicated features, tell them about the role using disabled personas and performing usability and accessibility audits pay in making
products more usable for people with disabilities.
When people talk as if accessibility is only the concern of DEI, Compliance, and Accessibility Teams, tell them about how important injecting disability inclusion throughout the organization is for growing accessibility maturity.
When people make a big deal of the next “Disability Day,” talk about how important it is for disability inclusion and accessibility activities to occur every day, not just the special ones.
When people talk about hiring people with disabilities, remind them how important it is for those disabled employees to easily, quickly, and cheaply get accommodations so they stay at the organization and can give their best to the
organization.
When people tell you accessibility is unnecessary, because there aren’t any disabled customers, point them to user research with stories from disabled customers. If you don’t have user research with disabled customers, use the generic disability statistics for your country.
When people tell you they think accessibility is merely about access, remind them that accessibility is a civil right.
Alt txt: Two columns, each with five items in it.
First column titled What People Think Accessibility is:
1. Eliminating complicated features
2. owned by DEI, Compliance and Accessibility Teams
3. Disability “Days”
4.Hiring People with Disabilities
5. Unnecessary, because “we don’t have disabled customers”
Second Column titled What Accessibility Actually is:
1. Using Disabled Personas, Performing Usability and Accessibility Audit.
2. Injecting Disability Inclusion Throughout the Organization
3. Baking Accessibility into all Organizational Activities, Every day.
4. Getting Disabled Employees Accommodations
5. User Research- Finding Disabled Customers, and Telling their Stories.