“Any Device, Anywhere”​ Should Include “Any Person”: Accessibility and Disability Inclusion by Design

As a tech analyst and university educator, I am often asked to partner with leading tech companies to review leading technologies and to share my insights. This post is sponsored by VMware, though the insights shared are my own.

“Any device, anywhere” has become a popular mantra, capturing the ethos that people should be empowered to work efficiently and securely wherever they want, using the technology of their choice. Sounds good. But it’s not good enough.

The problem with this mantra is that it is too tech-focused and not fully people-focused, overlooking a broad swath of individuals. Specifically, those with disabilities. That might be you or me or your co-worker or your talented coder. Or your customer. Noticed or not. It might be you tomorrow if not today.

VMware, one of the world’s largest multi-cloud and enterprise software companies, recently underscored this too-often overlooked disconnect from a large body of the global population at its mega-online tech conference, VMworld. In looking at the content catalog, I was drawn to a session aptly named: “Any App, Any Cloud, Any Device Is Not Enough — We Need to Add Any User”.

“Three ‘Anys’ missing an ‘Any’: ‘Any User!!!’”

As a multi-cloud and enterprise applications solutions provider, VMware’s traditional adaptation of “any device, anywhere” was slightly more expansive and nuanced — for its industry: “any app, on any cloud, to any device”. VMware introduced its online session with the acknowledgment that “The missing ‘any’ is ‘any user’.” With this how-do-we-all-do-better approach, VMware introduced its session adding the “fourth any” — “any user” — specifically, those with disabilities.

Developers, designers, as well as companies everywhere and of every size, need to expand their vision and mission to follow VMware’s lead to adopt an ethos that makes tech truly inclusive, accessible, and people-centric: for all people, all the time, with particular consideration of the vast body of customers and employees who work hard every day to overcome a variety of disabilities.

Disability and Accessibility — Why should everyone care?

VMware’s Senior Staff Accessibility Architect, Sheri Byrne-Haber, started her detailed session by sharing the foundation for her strong commitment to disability inclusion: Byrne-Haber offered that she has a daughter who is deaf and that she herself is a magnification and keyboard only user and a wheelchair user (and, yes, that’s her practicing archery outside in the photo!).

Throughout VMworld 2021, VMware leaders challenged their audience to imagine new possibilities. By hosting this session, VMware demonstrated a commitment to inclusive leadership.

Consider both Visible and Invisible Disabilities

Only 30% of disabilities are visible to others, such as someone who uses a wheelchair, wears a hearing aid, or has a service animal, Byrne-Haber observed.

70% of disabilities are hidden, she explained, such as a person with diabetes or someone who might be deaf in one ear or need to wear special glasses or someone who might be color blind or people who are neurodiverse — that would include people with autism, people with attention deficit disorder, and people with epilepsy.

Did you know that Facebook’s (now Meta’s), logo has blue because it is the only color Mark Zuckerberg sees well? Byrne-Haber shared this example broadening it to a much larger community. She noted that “Six and a half percent of people in technology are color blind.” Consider the implications of that figure.

Accessibility is also about Temporary and Situational Ability Loss

“Accessibility is also about temporary and situational ability loss,” said Byrne-Haber. When these additional disabilities are considered, the percentage of those with disabilities moves to roughly thirty percent of the US population, she said.

Neurodiversity inclusivity, in particular, matters significantly to millennials

Millennials, who make up one-third of the US workforce feel very strongly about disability inclusion in the workplace regardless of whether they themselves have a disability, Byrne-Haber said. She pointed out they feel “especially strongly with respect to how an employer treats employees who identify as neurodiverse” — and a much larger percentage of the millennial population self-identifies as being neurodiverse than older individuals.

Neurodiversity includes autism, attention deficit disorder, and dyslexia.

Neurodiversity Inclusivity and Talent Acquisition

And if you’re looking to recruit the best talent, Byrne-Haber cited a large study in which twenty percent of millennials have said that they decided against applying for a job because they didn’t see evidence that the employer was neurodiversity inclusive and eighty percent said that they would be more likely to accept a job at a company that shared information about neurodiversity inclusion initiatives — even if they did not consider themselves neurodiverse.

No complaints, no worries? Wrong.

92% of people with disabilities will move to a more accessible competitor without ever telling you they can’t use your products, Byrne-Haber warned. So don’t take the absence of complaints as an absence of problems.

Accessibility is the law under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Not only is disability inclusion the right thing to do, but it is also the law, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Byrne-Haber observed. She noted that in 2020, there were approximately lawsuits 3,900 lawsuits in the US over inaccessible websites and almost every single one of them is being decided in favor of the plaintiffs with disabilities.

Accessibility is becoming a global mandate

In 2025, the twenty-seven member nations of the European Union (EU) will put into effect the European Accessibility Act, providing uniformity for accessibility mandates for products, services, and employment. Byrne-Haber noted that Canada, the UK, Australia, and Israel already have accessibility laws. She also noted that four EU countries have already “completely banned the public sector from acquiring inaccessible software.” Byrne-Haber also pointed out that under the EU’s Accessibility Act governments will even be empowered to recall certain products that do not meet new accessibility standards.

Inclusive Software Development

“When you make your software accessible, what you are doing is that you’re making sure that you don’t interfere with the user’s ability to use their assistive technology to interact with your software development,” Byrne-Haber noted that many federal contracts that cannot be bid upon if the software isn’t accessible to people with disabilities.

How do you include “any user”?

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Organizations should look to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as the starting point for ensuring accessibility, Byrne-Haber said.

She also shared some common accessibility guidelines.

VMware’s framework for adding “any user”

Step 1: Create a Disability Employee Resource Group

VMware began its path to add the “any user” by creating what Byrne-Haber called, “A diverse team with diverse needs.” They set a goal of creating a workplace environment where employees would feel comfortable about self-identifying that they have a disability.

Step 2: Build a Digital Inventory

For VMware, “building a digital inventory” meant doing comprehensive audits and creating user flows so that even when software is updated it remains accessible.

Step 3 Seek Executive Support

Obtaining c-suite support is a linchpin to putting into action an enterprise accessibility program.

Step 4: Centralized Accessibility Budget

Creating a centralized accessibility budget governed by the disability employee resource group helps better prioritize accessibility needs and compliance in consultation with business units, Byrne-Haber said.

Step 5: Build a Training and Champions Program

VMware had 11,000 engineers who needed accessibility training at the start of the company’s accessibility and disability inclusion initiative. The importance of this training said Byrne-Haber is that enterprises need people thinking about accessibility and disability inclusion when the accessibility team is not in the room. Byrne-Haber said that the program also provides recognition for employees who achieve certain accessibility training goals.

Step 6: Hire Employees with Disabilities

Results matter. One year after VMware launched its Disability Employee Resource Group, VMware’s US disability self-identification rate doubled from 1.5% to 3.2%. The year after, the rate moved to 3.5%, despite the fact that VMware added 13,000 employees during that time frame.

Best Practices for Hiring More People with Disabilities

Byrne-Haber provided several best practices for success hiring more people with disabilities:

• Recruit where people with disabilities are.
• Create an accessible recruitment program.
• Have a robust accommodations process.
• Make sure that hiring offers do not have accessibility barriers.
• Onboarding must be accessible.
• Employee retention programs must be accessible.

Step 7: Create Testing Tools and Strategies

Tapping into the power of tech, VMware has developed machine learning tools to augment accessibility assessments. These tools examine data and patterns, explained Byrne-Haber. VMware has made its accessibility testing machine learning tool an open code to help others advance their accessibility.

Step 8: Create an Internal Accessibility Policy

“We wanted to be inclusive not just to our customers, but also to our colleagues,” said Byrne-Haber. She explained that to achieve this VMware took two important steps: it stopped acquiring inaccessible software and it worked with its vendors to fix accessibility issues with existing software.

“When you choose to prioritize inclusion, the number of accommodations required should drop substantially because all of the sudden what you are buying and using” is accessible and compliant, Byrne-Haber said.

Step 9: Create a System to Assess and Grade Product Accessibility

Compare products with an accessibility template to see how well the organization is achieving its accessibility goals. Byrne-Haber noted that by actually issuing a “grade” for product accessibility compliance, the process of ensuring compliance was “gamified” for developers, inspiring them to be particularly attentive to accessibility objectives and to excel in meeting them.

Step 10: Add Accessibility to Your Product Release Gate

Adding accessibility to your product release gate by creating a “minimum accessibility threshold” for new products will aid your organization in its accessibility path, Byrne-Haber said.

Accessibility Maturity Resources

Byrne-Haber also recommended resources to help companies assess their accessibility maturity:

Following VMware accessibility and disability inclusion pathway should do much to help any organization achieve the important goal of including “the fourth ‘any’” — “any user”!

Hopefully, the depth and actionability of this one VMworld 2021 session will inspire you to explore others! — On Demand!