When we talk about accessibility, it’s easy to clump all disabled people into the same boat and expect them to each be using the same tools – but of course, being blind myself, I am very well aware that disabled people are just as diverse a community as the widespread population, with all the same human issues and imperfections that anyone else has.
Some are older and grew up in a different generation; some are younger and are still figuring out what works for them.
Some have lots of disposable income to buy all the latest kit; others forgo buying anything that might help them, simply because they cannot financially justify it.
Some have wide circles of supportive friends and family, who encourage them to explore and discover new things; others feel the real sense of peer pressure to keep their head down, shut up and fit in by doing things the same way that everyone else does, even when it’s really not working for them!
And then of course, some are technical wizards, while others are people like me, who are pleasantly surprised when they can navigate a Word document effectively!
So, if we agree that as people we all have very different needs, how does this translate to companies when it comes to accessibility?
Should bigger businesses have greater responsibilities in terms of making their products and services more accessible, or should it be a level playing field for all?
Does having a bigger turnover mean you should have a bigger commitment to enabling and empowering disabled people or should access be part and parcel of doing business regardless?
Well, if you happen to be a huge, multi-national company with thousands of employees, a marketing budget that could keep a small country afloat and a boardroom full of very important people discussing very important matters over VERY expensive coffee, should we expect you to be championing accessibility on a greater scale than the small, independent sweet shop down the street?
I’d say yes and no.
There’s a perfectly reasonable argument why bigger organisations should be doing more. Of course, they have more money, more resources, more influence and, generally speaking, more opportunities to make meaningful changes. They could employ accessibility specialists, commission audits, redesign websites, install better facilities and offer more staff training.
They have the capacity to ensure that accessibility is baked in from the beginning, instead of being iced on as an afterthought right at the end. They can set money aside for it, instead of repeatedly making promises to themselves to squeeze it into next year’s budget.
So, with all this in mind, should we be giving the little guys an accessibility get out of jail free card?
I think there is a major danger in doing this.
Picture a small, independent café, for example. It might have three or four employees, a modest turnover and a troublesome landlord who doesn’t believe in change – either in terms of money or to his beloved (and quite frankly) ancient property.
Now compare that with a national coffee chain, which has much more scope at its disposal.
The circumstances could be considered opposite, and so naturally, expecting the same solutions in every circumstance would be unrealistic, but then should the customer experience be fundamentally different?
As a blind woman, should I have to accept that I can choose, order, buy, pay, enjoy, communicate and participate in one of those places but not the other, simply based on the fact that one has a bigger budget?
A small business may well not be able to afford a flashy, automated ordering system, but could it ensure that its staff knows how to offer me assistance respectfully? Could it provide information online to make things easier for me ahead of my visit? Could it consider what might matter most to those with certain disabilities by getting to know customers like me and considering the small things that could make a huge difference to my experience?
You can almost hear the cartoon cash register cha-ching when anyone mentions the words “reasonable” and “adjustment” in the same sentence, but sometimes a reasonable adjustment is as simple, cheap and easy as just moving a chair somewhere else so that I don’t trip over it! We can all learn how to be the person who has empathy, respect, understanding and care for free.
You don’t necessarily have to throw massive amounts of money at every problem. Sometimes you just need to recognise that a problem is there in the first place.
Now, of course, that is not to say that every accessibility issue can be solved with a goodwill gesture, but at the same time, limited resources should not automatically translate into invisible ambition.
I am a big believer that accessibility is an experience. Some of the best experiences I have had in terms of feeling welcomed, considered, included and valued have come from the businesses with the least money to blow.
In fact, sometimes the more high-tech the solutions are, the more distracted we become from our basic human connections. If we have the option of putting money between ourselves and the issues, we risk becoming so far removed from our customers that their experience gets diminished as a result.
So perhaps we are actually asking the wrong question.
Instead of wondering whether bigger businesses should be expected to do more than little ones, perhaps we really need to focus on how everybody can work towards the same fundamental outcome – disabled people feeling like equally valued customers, who have access to what they need in order to make the most of the service being provided.
The route to achieving that might look very different depending on the company in question, but the underlying principles will be very much the same.
Over the years, I have learnt that an equal playing field doesn’t necessarily mean that we all start off with the same resources. It’s about recognising that everyone deserves to feel that they can participate, that they matter and that they belong, disabled or not.
Being born severely sight-impaired, you might say my budget on eyesight was very much restricted. While I recognise this as a challenge, I have never seen it as the thing that means I will consequently achieve less. In fact, it has often been the very thing which has kept me striving to succeed more, especially when it’s been difficult to do so.
I could spend my life reminding myself of all the things I struggle to do that others with bigger eyesight bank accounts are able to do so much more easily, or I can figure out a different way of making it happen that will work for me.
This means that accessibility should not be treated as an optional extra for those lucky organisations who can afford the luxury of being generous enough to offer it. If we are serious about cultivating a more inclusive society, we need to keep finding ways to make sure that access and inclusion is not defined, dictated or determined by turnover.
– Hey, I’m Fern, and I’m a blind broadcaster, audio describer and guest blogger for VoiceBox. I love to share my experiences of media accessibility, audio description, events, festivals and more here. Oh, and you may see me refer to ‘Nancy’, my partner in crime and guide dog – adding her to my life was the best thing I ever did.