Leadership requires patience, approachability, and strong communication, but emphasizing accessibility is not always front and center. As accessibility gains cultural and corporate recognition, companies begin to see the need to prioritize it in leadership.
We’ll explore several ways to prioritize accessibility in leadership and how to share those values with a team.
Understand accessibility
Accessibility in the workplace means easy access to office facilities, programs, and processes, whether an employee has a disability or not. Accessibility affects every aspect of an employee’s day, from how they get to their desk at work to what computer systems they use.
Globally, 1 in 4 people lives with a disability. Eighty percent of these disabilities are invisible or not immediately apparent to others, like some visual and cognitive disabilities. Knowing that there is diversity in disabilities leaves less space for assumptions.
The ADA has been in place for over 30 years, yet 1 out of 5 individuals with mobility disabilities still report physical barriers in daily life. This includes hundreds and thousands of offices in the U.S.
Furthermore, a 2020 Web Accessibility Annual Report showed that 98% of websites failed to comply with the ADA. Staying updated on ADA legislation allows employers to include accessibility in the most foundational aspects of a business.
Though there are many ways to make an office more accessible, company’s do not always prioritize those changes. Therefore, leaders interested in facilitating an accessible work environment should be well versed in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Helpful office adjustments, such as more accessible meeting presentations, altered equipment, and more accessible in-office or remote workplaces, have improved overall morale, productivity, and safety.
Create an inclusive office culture
Studies show more inclusive work environments lower turnover rates, raise profits and productivity and attract more significant, diverse talent pools.
A national survey by the Center for Talent and Innovation (now Coqual) revealed that 41 percent of employees with disabilities without inclusive team leaders experienced workplace discrimination or bias.
While workplace biases vary, the survey showed that discrimination could mean ignoring ideas from certain employees. Nearly half of the ideas that employees with disabilities raised that later proved valuable were initially rejected by their companies.
An inclusive work environment embraces differences and disabilities and values all employee contributions. An inclusive workplace allows the 75% of employees with disabilities who report valuable ideas to contribute equally.
The consequences of digital neglect
Leadership needs to be aware of the consequence of ignoring or delaying the need for accessibility policy to be implemented. This can be helped simply by ensuring that leaders are approachable. For example, leaders prioritizing accessibility tend to have an “open-door policy” that encourages discussions, values varying opinions, and builds trust. Even though approachability can lead to positive results, progress cannot be seen without accessibility practices.
Though WCAG conformance is not currently required outside federal agencies, states are implementing laws requiring web compliance. For example, Colorado’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) is requesting all state agencies to share their digital accessibility plans by July 2022, understanding that they need to implement these plans by July 2024. State agencies that do not adhere to their goals will receive fines and leave themselves open to lawsuits.
Measures to promote inclusivity
Accessibility in leadership fosters an environment that promotes inclusion by offering accommodations, transparency, and education.
Promoting inclusivity with training programs helps lower disclosure anxiety and nearly doubles employee satisfaction. For example, accommodation training like Accenture’s mental health ally program teaches employees to be sensitive to colleagues living with a mental illness.
Transparency keeps employees informed of business changes and welcomes constructive feedback. Transparency also means leadership accountability. Leaders must address challenges head-on when employees raise challenges within a company that may hinder accessibility.
That is why workplace accessibility can benefit from hiring leaders like Chief Accessibility Officers whose sole job is to focus on disability inclusion.
Leaders who cultivate an inclusive office culture are proven to cut workplace discrimination based on disabilities by half.
Conclusion
Research shows that companies that value accessibility is the key driver of employee engagement and productivity. Still, alarming statistics show that work culture has a long way to go before it’s truly inclusive and accessible.
In 2021, 51 million distinct accessibility errors were found on over one million home pages. Nearly 40 percent of customers reported inaccessibility as the main reason for the lack of purchase. And many employees still report physical facility barriers at work that inhibit their performance.
Fortunately, major corporations worldwide show great examples of workplace accessibility leaders from big and small companies can follow.
L’Oréal, for example, has received a perfect score on the Disability Equality Index (which tracks accessibility in the workplace for people with disabilities) several years in a row. In addition, Microsoft continues to lead in accessibility with the Microsoft Disability Scholarship that assists high school seniors with disabilities who plan to impart careers in the tech industry.
Accessibility in the workplace starts from the top. The more company leaders prioritize accessibility, the sooner companies and consumers will reap the benefits of an inclusive culture.
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