Increasing accessibility awareness is essential when there is still education needed, but awareness alone doesn’t get the job done. Here are three reasons why it’s critical to shift from focusing on awareness to taking action.
Awareness overkill
Spreading awareness, educating communities, and developing empathy help lay the foundation for creating change in society. Awareness is a complex metric to measure, but data suggests that awareness has been increasing, especially under the influence of the pandemic.
That’s a positive thing, but awareness without action can come off as superficial, diluting the importance of the message and the goal. Those who want to see and contribute to change may lose faith in organizations or leaders who only seem to focus on awareness without taking action.
And even those who are invested can grow tired of hearing a message that has started to seem empty.
Oversaturation
Focusing on awareness without shifting to action also runs the risk of leading to awareness oversaturation. Reaching the point where most of the population has at least a general awareness and understanding of accessibility could lead to significant change. Still, without taking action, awareness advocacy could overtake the goal of effecting change and improving accessibility.
Widespread awareness can also create the illusion of progress even when things aren’t improving. And since awareness advocacy does require resources, using those resources to take action could have a more significant impact by reducing barriers while passively contributing to spreading awareness.
Lack of measurable results
Surveying the impact of awareness efforts can provide insight into how advocacy influences attitudes, empathy, and informed people.
But that information can’t be used to measure actual changes and improvements in accessibility.
Taking actionable steps will create benchmarks that can be measured against, resulting in data used to evaluate effectiveness and shape plans for ongoing improvements.
How we can make the shift
Shifting the collective focus from action to awareness will be a gradual process, and it starts with what each person can do individually and within one’s communities. That can be daunting, especially when many people may feel like they still have a lot to learn, but here are some ways to make the challenge seem more approachable:
Start small: Taking action doesn’t have to mean initiating a colossal project or policy overhaul right at the beginning. It could start with working on language, improving an aspect of customer service, or making your blog more accessible. Even improvements that may seem minor can have an impact, and they’ll add up over time.
- Collaborate – Making the world more accessible is a collaborative effort so don’t do it alone! Get insight from people in your community, organization, or workplace on what kind of barriers exist and come up with a plan to address them together.
- Focus on improvements – The more progress you make, the more aware you’ll probably be of how much more needs to be done but don’t let the weight of that stand in the way of what can be achieved.
- Get personal - Accessibility is about finding ways to break down barriers to resources, opportunities, and participation. The best way to do that is to vary from one place to the next. Look at what steps others have taken for inspiration and guidance, but adapt and apply these steps in specific ways to your environment or community.
Breaking down barriers and improving accessibility cannot happen without active effort. Awareness will always matter, but focusing on action can lead to more significant measurable improvements in accessibility and awareness.
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