After a second year of living with the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is anxiously looking to 2022 for a return to normal. In 2021 there were many peaks and valleys, turns, and twists, some positive and others not so − Omicron is more transmissible than any other variant but also appears to be the least effective. The stock market is through the roof, but so are prices.
But what happened in the world of Accessibility?
We review some of our favorite content and look forward to some of the exciting things to come in 2022.
2021 in review
Enforcement activity
In 2021 the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached settlement agreements with dozens of entities, including Kroger, LA Fitness, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families' Child Welfare Program, Brown University, Rite Aid, and Hy-Vee, Inc.
Of course, not all settlements were directly related to or included elements of digital accessibility. For those that were, however, the message was crystal clear. Take Hy-Vee, Inc. for example, where accessibility action items were measured in days post-agreement versus months and even years for defendants in decades past.
Just ten years ago when the DOJ settled with covered entities, all that was provided was the Department's "Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities" − a 6 page mostly ambiguous document (by today's standards) that included best practices for alternative access and effective communication. But the pandemic has ushered in renewed expectations for accessibility across the board. As such, organizational leadership should take note − Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 are slowly becoming the law of the land (states have begun to adopt them as well) − even if it is just in time for WCAG 3.0.
With so many organizations still aiming for 2.0 given the precedent set with the Feds in 2018, perhaps 2022 should be a training year.
More on accessibility training for customer service teams.
Through our legal database, Accessibility.com also noted a steep rise in the use of overlays. Since we began collecting data, we observed that approximately 13.75% (monthly average) of the sites in which enforcement activity was reported were using 3rd party overlays. This begs the question − Should Your Company Use an Accessibility Overlay?
Accessibility.com hosts AccessibilityPlus 2021
In 2021 Accessibility.com hosted its first live event, AccessibilityPlus 2021 - the Global Conference, which garnered incredibly encouraging reviews thanks to our incredible Director of Conferences Lori Litz, staff, and the wonderful speakers that dedicated their time and resources to provide some of the best information available right now.
The event boasted a registration of over 2,000 participants worldwide and sparked interest in the approach Accessibility.com has taken to promoting accessibility.
The feedback was so encouraging we decided to do something even bigger in 2022. More on this below.
Read more on hosting accessible conferences by Kaylyn McKenna.
Content
Accessibility.com also took a look at some of our reader's favorite articles in 2021.
In "What is in the Americans with Disabilities Act?" and "Beyond the ADA: Exploring Disability Rights Legislation," Shayna Korol dives deeper into the protections afforded to persons with disabilities under existing disability rights laws, a great read for ADA Coordinators and Accessibility Professionals.
We asked our writers to explore barriers to inclusive work environments and develop checklists for reasonable accommodations to promote accessibility and DEI-related initiatives. In "Understanding and Adopting Strong DEI Initiatives" Jaz Joyner gave excellent tips for organizations looking to build a strong DEI program. Benjamin Roussey provided a great snapshot of reasonable accommodation costs and Amanda Dodge gave us a roadmap to improving hiring processes with "10 Ways to Improve Your Interviewing Process for Candidates with Disabilities."
We also followed trends in State and Local government and worked to provide information on actionable solutions Title II entities can take to successfully implement accessibility in their organization. Rick Hoel provided great insight into how organizations can identify funding for accessibility initiatives in "Securing Accessibility and Disability Grants for Businesses and Nonprofits to Help Fund Disability Initiatives," and our team aimed to help readers remove obstacles in "Overcoming Organizational Resistance to Accessibility."
We were fortunate to have diverse perspectives from cross-disability disciplines as well. Dr. Roy brought us to the fight in "The Limb Loss Community's Fight to Access Assistive Technology" and Tamar LeRoy introduced us all to Crip Time.
Accessible gaming was also a hot topic in 2021. Susan Cali's piece on AbleGamers gave us insight into how organizations are working to combat social isolation and Melanie Ashford's "What Video Game Developers Should Know About Deaf Accessibility" zoomed in on best practices for making gaming accessible to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
We enjoyed several pieces on digital accessibility from Cam Waller, including his article on accessible fonts and JavaScript. There were great stories in human interest as well. John Loeppky's "Two Blind Brothers: Would You Buy Something You Can't See?" is a must-read for viewers who appreciate the innovation that can be found in accessibility. Teal Lepley reintroduced us all to Judith Heumann and Daphne Wester shared a piece of New York in "The Legacy of Pioneering Disability Rights Activist Anne Emerman."
Speaking of introductions, if you haven't watched our Publisher John Griffin's ongoing series Accessibility Matters, be sure to bookmark the page. In John's extensive work as host of Accessibility Matters and Publisher of Accessibility.com, we're introduced to leaders on the cutting edge of accessibility, from human resources to assistive technology − Accessibility Matters has something for everyone.
A special thanks to all our writers and staff; what an incredible year this has been! So much accomplished and so much left to do in 2022.
So what's next?
AccessibilityPlus 2022
In 2022 Accessibility.com will host a series of conferences that encompass a wide range of industries including education, government, e-commerce, and banking, and will focus on relevant industry-related action items necessary to build support within organizations that wish to implement accessibility initiatives.
Registration has been opened for AccessibilityPlus 2022.
More on AccessibilityPlus 2021 and 2022.
50th Anniversary of the Independent Living Movement
This year also marks the 50th Anniversary of the Independent Living Movement (ILM). Beginning next week, our readers will be introduced to leaders around the country in the Independent Living Movement, including Executive Directors for Centers of Independent Living and State Councils for Independent Living, as well as disability rights leaders that set the examples we all aspire to today.
We'll take deep dives into disability culture, advocacy, barriers to independent living, and much more.
With so much content and so many initiatives to cover, it's impossible to include them all in one post, so we'll close with a few final thoughts and a special thanks to our readers.
Final thoughts and a special thanks to our readers
Most accessibility professionals learn early on to build up resilience to rejection − a lot of it. Expect dismissal. Expect disappointment. Expect plans to be changed. But manifest success. How? − start by not traversing the mountain alone.
Successful implementation of an accessibility initiative is intrinsically bound to your relationship with the community you are a part of and serve. Serve with your community and they will serve with you. Because without them, your solutions are just that − your solutions.
Thus, the same can be said for this organization and our viewers. Without your support and collaboration, Accessibility.com would not have the great fortune and privilege of providing objective and trustworthy information to the colleagues we work amongst and serve.
We are incredibly grateful for your dedication to accessibility, and we cherish the time you spend with us. To that end, we genuinely hope that we will have much more of it with you and cannot wait to see what we can accomplish together in 2022. Thank you to all of our readers and supporters for all you do, have a Happy New Year!
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