Accessibility: the true driving force behind diversity and inclusion
Despite ongoing efforts, bills, laws, and regulations, we still have a long way to go when it comes to diversity. Diversity became an integral part of business strategies worldwide in fits and starts. But despite the best of intentions, the results lagged. Enter 'inclusion'. Where diversity is about the composition of your workforce, inclusion is about creating a work environment that actually enables all employees to participate and get the same opportunities. How can we work to a more diverse world, if on the basis of it all, we are not ready or even willing to be really inclusive? And what if people don't have access to your company, not just physically but also digitally? John Samuel, founder, and CEO of Ablr, the US-based company that helps organizations be more digitally accessible, put it very clear in a recent article on Recruiter.com. The title 'If your job applications are not accessible, your diversity and inclusion strategy is not complete' says it all.
We catch up with John and with Eric Pringle, President of Integrated People Solutions, Kennedy Executive's partner firm in the USA. Eric is a firm believer Accessibility should become a critical component of an organizations’ D&I efforts everywhere. He recently consulted Ablr to help understand and better address the needs of clients, candidates, and other stakeholders with disabilities (i.e., how to make their website and services more accessible to people with visual impairments.
As gatekeepers to jobs, the executive search industry should take a leadership role toward greater diversity and inclusion. Do you agree?
Eric: “Yes, it should be like this. And in many ways, it is. We have had employment laws for females and minorities in the US since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These have always bound the industry. However, there is a sad history of people skirting those laws and their intent. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. Bush, sought to open access for the disabled in employment and facility accessibility. In 2010, the regulations were amended to include web access to extend accessibility to folks with sight impairments. Unfortunately, many people involved in HR are still unaware of these regulations or choose not to comply despite the penalties that come with violating them”.
Your website is now fully ADA-compliant. What does this mean?
Eric: “It means we meet the global standard for global accessibility. This is stipulated in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The ADA follows this standard. Those who are sight impaired now have easier access to our services and job offers. Ablr performed an audit of our website and provided a list of recommendations we shared with our website development partner. People can change the font size to fit their visual needs but can also alter contrast, change to grayscale to make text easier to read and navigate. We are still working on a few last details, but we were able to enhance accessibility for people with visual difficulties”.
John: “Being blind myself, in job searches, I often encountered situations where the application wasn't accessible, and I couldn't tell what fields were mandatory or which fields I filled in incorrectly. Also, I often would be timed out because it would take me longer than the allotted time to complete the application, and I would have to start all over. This was very frustrating, and it showed me that if a company couldn't put in the effort to make their application accessible, what would they do for me if I got the job and needed support? Digital accessibility, however, is not only for people with visual impairments but benefits all people – including people with disabilities and the aging population. For example, including captioning on videos will make them more accessible for people who are Deaf or Hard of hearing. When we make content accessible, we follow the POUR framework, Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. My article on Recruiter.com goes into that in more detail”.
With the pandemic showing us that roles need to be revised and especially where they need to be fulfilled needs to be reconsidered, do you see improvements in accessibility happening? or will it make things even harder?
Eric: “Covid has shown that many roles can be performed from home. In this way, there may be a tremendous opportunity for people who may have a more challenging time with transportation due to the need for a wheelchair or because they are blind. If they did not have to commute or worry about access to facilities, it could open up significant opportunities for them. And, It opens up broader talent pools for companies.”.
John: “Recently, I was doing some interviews with some Disability ERG leaders at Fortune 500 companies, and someone was talking about how P&G was doing a great job – one thing that I heard they do is to let people know upfront all the accommodations that they offer, and if they needed any others, please let them know. This breaks down the fear of asking for accommodations during the interview process because P&G are proactive about it. As an applicant with a disability, this would make me feel much more comfortable and give me a sense that this company is ready to set me up for success”.
The benefits of digital accessibility apply to candidates and recruiters alike. You open the door to people who couldn't even reach that door before and get the opportunity to meet new talent.
Eric: “Exactly! I have a personal experience that took place some time ago, but I am reminded of it again and again because it illustrates the benefits of accessibility so well. Back in the '90s, Wells Fargo was one of the first major companies to open up job postings and applications on a company website. I happened to be the HR person for online banking, and we wanted to use the web to attract people to apply to build a new way of banking. Our very first hire happened to be a minority. We had no idea throughout the process until he showed up for his final interview. It showed that the web was color blind, and we felt fortunate to get an excellent hire who also happened to be diverse. At the same time, there is still a bit of a digital divide between access to the web and high-speed internet access in communities of varying income groups. That has closed a lot in recent years”.
John: “This shows well that accessibility should be available both physically and digitally. Recently, President Biden passed the Infrastructure Bill. A once in a generation investment in US infrastructure to, among other things, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet and invest in better public transport for communities that have too often been left behind. United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg illustrated how highways and overpasses needed to be rerouted and redesigned. Their historically racist design drove commerce out of minority neighborhoods and made it harder for their residents to seek employment outside of them. This will most certainly benefit accessibility. However, we interpreted "access and broadband "to include digital accessibility. We are working with the Arts community in Raleigh to ensure that their infrastructure is accessible for the digital era. We are mapping out their facilities so that people with visual impairments can use their phones to navigate different venues. We are also making their websites accessible”.
What do you think is the biggest challenge for the executive search, recruitment, and HR industry to take accessibility to the next level?
Eric: “The primary challenge is a lack of knowledge. After that, it is not that expensive and time-consuming to get compliant, but it does help to have experts like the Ablr team at your disposal. We just launched a compliant site, and Ablr reviewed it and came back with 4 or 5 suggestions on how to make it even better, and we will be working with them on those tweaks in the coming months. It really is that simple”.
Eric Pringle is a veteran in the world of talent management and recruitment. He holds an MBA from Duke University with a focus on Global Management. Before that, he completed his bachelor's degree in Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Iowa. After a successful career as a Human Resources leader at industry icons such as Wells Fargo, US WEST, and chemical and oil company Amoco, he started Integrated People Solutions / Kennedy Executive Search in Denver.
John Samuel is the co-founder & CEO of Ablr, where he focuses on helping organizations be more inclusive by removing the barriers that have hindered people with disabilities from accessing education, retail, entertainment, and employment. John’s passion for his work is very personal as he is blind and wants to make sure the obstacles he has faced are removed for others. Over the past 15 years, John has held leadership roles domestically and internationally. While launching and serving as the CEO for Aster Cameroon, a global telecom infrastructure Joint Venture, he built a $45 million business bringing internet access across Africa. Afterward, he became an early member of Homestrings, a USAID-backed crowdfunding platform, where he helped raise capital for startups in emerging markets. John holds his MBA from George Washington University, BS in Accounting from North Carolina State University. John is a former Triangle Business Journal’s 40 under 40 award recipient and was selected to the Business Journal’s Influencers: Rising Stars, a national list of 100 young influential business leaders. In 2021, John received the Triangle Business Journal’s Leader in Diversity Award and earned a certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace from the University of South Florida. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Aravind Eye Foundation, the world’s largest eye care provider, and the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County.