IDPD is observed annually on 03 December. The day celebrates the achievements of disabled people and champions ways to create a more inclusive and sustainable world.
The IDPD 2024 theme
This year’s IDPD theme is “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future.” This theme recognises the crucial role that disabled people play in creating a more inclusive and equitable world for all.
In this blog, we break down the key goals and call to actions to support the 2024 IDPD theme. These are:
- Promoting the leadership of persons with disabilities in all areas of life.
- Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society.
- Increasing the participation of persons with disabilities in decision-making processes.
- Raising awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities.
- Celebrating the achievements of persons with disabilities.
The leadership of persons with disabilities
Leadership teams have the influence and ability to passionately get other members of an organisation on board with this important crusade. Leaders need to steer the workforce with a clear strategy and plan of action. This can assist both internal colleagues and external customers with their inclusive requirements.
Below we share methods that can be adopted to help form part of this strategy.
Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities
Globally, over 2.5 billion people rely on the use of assistive products to access the web. So, it’s essential that users can easily navigate and interact with digital platforms, no matter what device or software they use. Otherwise, this would result in people with disabilities being shut out from accessing information and services that they have a human right to. In turn, stripping them of their independence.
To be an inclusive organisation, companies need to make sure people have the equipment in place that they require to perform their job efficiently. This could be assistive tech software or devices, such as a screen reader or magnifier.
Once the equipment is in place, companies then need to ensure that:
- Intranets can be accessed with any assistive technology devices.
- Policies and documents from departments are presented in a user-friendly way and saved in an accessible format.
- External apps that employees may need to access, such as pension information or pay slips, are also on an accessible platform.
- Virtual meetings on have inclusive facilities in place, such as live captioning.
- Any e-learning modules that teams need to undertake are inclusively designed. This includes items such as media files having transcripts to support visually impaired colleagues.
Now, let’s look at your external website visitors. Besides having your website inclusively designed from scratch, an accessibility audit needs to be conducted. It’s important when choosing who to get an audit taken with, that they perform both automated and manual user testing. Having a usability test done like this, assesses the way in which users will access your site with the use of assistive technologies.
Our team can provide you with a free accessibility health check, which undergoes both forms of testing. We’ll then give you with a report of any discovered errors and provide live demonstrations as to why these are causing barriers for disabled users. This will form a comprehensive road map of changes needed to meet web standards.
Increasing the participation of persons with disabilities in the decision-making processes
There’s no one who knows more about what needs to change in society, when it comes to inclusion, than the people who come across obstacles in their everyday life. Yet, it’s staggering how many organisations don’t reach out and gain disabled people’s invaluable input.
I’m not sure if this is down to the embarrassment of needing to ask for advice or due to ignorance in general. But, there’s certainly nothing to feel embarrassed about when it comes to seeking guidance. Nobody knows everything and things are changing all of the time, just look at the advancements recently with artificial intelligence taking over the world. It can sometimes be hard to keep up. For others, some businesses may not even be aware that the services or products they are providing aren’t accessible, and if they don’t ask for feedback they’ll remain unaware. Of course, then there’s other businesses out there who just don’t care, but they might when they get slapped with some legal action down the line.
Our team didn’t become experts in the industry without working alongside persons with disabilities. That’s why we originally began working in partnership with the pan-disabled team at Shaw Trust Accessibility Services. Over the span of 10-years, working with charities and individual user-groups has been the only way that we’ve accomplished what we have. Even now, we still come across unexpected issues with certain site elements working fine on some devices and not others.
How else can you become the best in your field or improve without getting your services critiqued by the users themselves. This is why user testing is vital from the beginning of a project and throughout.
Nobody wants unnecessary frustrations inflicted on others. So, it’s important to remember that disabled people want to help you, and by doing so, will help others by sharing their experiences and knowledge.
Raising awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities
It’s crucial that workforces understand why accessibility is so important for organisations. Although many people will understand the need for something like a wheelchair user requiring access to a lift, often other aspects, such as digital accessibility is overlooked. However, if staff don’t know what the barriers are that people with disabilities face, then they can’t be expected to integrate inclusive best practices into their work. This is why knowledge sharing is key across departments.
To combat this, organisations could:
- Roll out general accessibility awareness training to whole teams or through mini groups of SPOCs.
- Give some teams more advanced training, such as in-house web development teams or communication professionals.
- Allow additional time for people in their working schedule to get into good inclusive habits.
- Enlist a small team of passionate accessibility advocates to work individually with teams and champion ways that everyone can play a part in creating an inclusive organisation.
- Show people first-hand the challenges disabled people face daily through eye-opening empathy lab sessions.
- Promote feedback results from internal and external sources, breaking down areas that the organisation needs to focus on and ways that individual teams can assist.
To build a truly inclusive workplace, it requires a united team approach.
Celebrating the achievements of persons with disabilities
2024 has seen better disability representation than ever in the media. From the Paralympics being more inclusive than ever before, impactive adverts changing mindsets, the first blind contestant taking the Strictly floor by storm, to brands like Mattel launching a new range of diverse Barbie dolls. It has been truly incredible to see.
In November, we saw the return of Shaw Trust’s Disability Power 100. Events like these are so important in raising the profile of disabled talent and celebrating the ambition and achievements of changemakers. Learn more about the incredible pioneering winners from this year, who are challenging society’s perceptions of disability.
For our team, we were proud sponsors of the Employer’s Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) Excellence Awards. The team celebrated in London with amazing organisations who have strived to make their organisations more inclusive. For those taking this important journey next year, it will be on a HeX-built benchmarking system; which we’re looking forward to sharing with you soon.
Shaping an inclusive and sustainable future
It comes down to making sure you have the right talent in your organisation, who are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to shape an inclusive workforce. This needs to start at the top level with leaders striving for positive change.
More so, to create an inclusive and sustainable future you need to ask. Ask for feedback from users, ask experts in the industry if what you are doing is right, ask people within your organisation itself for their opinions. There’s so much knowledge out there to tap into, but if you don’t ask, then you can never improve.
