Making Business Sense of

Digital Accessibility
What inclusion means
● Content can’t be conversational until it’s inclusive, and conversations are deeper and
more meaningful by bringing diverse people and perspectives together.

● Practice makes permanent. Small starts are better than not starting at all, and no
single person has all the answers. Learning, unlearning and course correcting are
part of our collective journeys.

● Creating safe spaces where we can all thrive means including BIPOC, disabled,
2SLGBTQIA+ and all underrepresented communities.

● People with privilege are capable of and responsible for changing systems designed
to benefit them so they’re designed to benefit everyone.
Accessibility is about people.
What does it mean to create an accessible
digital experience?
 The context around the world

16%
16% of the world’s population lives with a disability –
that’s 1.3 billion people!

Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health
Invisible disabilities

80%
of disabilities are invisible – not visible from the outside,
yet affect a person’s movement, senses or activities
 Types of
disabilities

Source: Microsoft Inclusive Design Methodologies

Consumer preference

75%
of people with a disability will take their business elsewhere because of
poor accessibility and are willing to buy from a more expensive brand that
does offer an accessible experience
Assistive technology
Poll

How would you

rate your digital
accessibility
knowledge?
What is web accessibility?
Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and
developed so that people with disabilities can use them.

More specifically, people can:

● Perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web

● Contribute to the Web

Source: https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/
Inaccessible content

96.3%
of the top million home pages on internet have accessibility
issues according to the 2023 WebAIM report
Question

What do you
know Manitoba’s
accessibility
legislation?
The Accessibility for Manitobans Act
The Accessibility for Manitobans Act became law in December 2013

The Information and Communication Standard came into effect on May 1, 2022
to address barriers faced by people accessing information, including print, in
person, on websites and other formats

https://accessibilitymb.ca/standard-for-info-and-comms.html
Complying with the Standard
● The Manitoba government will comply by May 1, 2023.
● Public sector organizations, libraries and educational institutions must
comply by May 1, 2024.
● Private sector, non-profit organizations and small municipalities must
comply by May 1, 2025.
“Disability is rarely the barrier.
Society creates the barriers.”
Haben Girma,
First Deafblind Harvard Law School graduate
Accessibility is everyone’s job
Accessibility is a business
imperative.
Nothing about us without us.
The art of noticing
Next time you scroll social media, watch for:

● HashTags
● Video captions
● Text in images
● Emojis
Your invitation…
Imagine a world of possibility…
What to do about it
1. Start with education and awareness. Gain insights, knowledge and expertise
by working with people who have lived experience with disabilities.
2. Enroll staff in training to build their knowledge and skills.
3. Include disabled people in your entire process, from personas to user stories
to design requirements, and show them in your marketing and
communications materials.
Thank you + what’s next
The Social Media and Website
Content Accessibility Class
October 18 and 19 (10:00 am - 12:30 pm)
$350 + GST
https://squarelyaccessible.com/training/s
ocial-media-and-website-content-accessib
ility/
The Accessibility Starter Kit
Accessible brand brush up + 1:1 coaching
$3750 + GST
Sign up by September 30 for $2,500 + GST
https://squarelyaccessible.com/services_post/
accessibility-starter-kit/
Thank you!
kelly@squarelyaccessible.com
204.290.7709