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Welcome to Disability: IN’s monthly round up of digital accessibility news for September.

At Disability:IN we know that digital accessibility impacts all aspects of disability inclusion. If you have questions about our digital accessibility program, please contact Jeff Wissel, our Chief Accessibility Officer.

Building a business case for accessibility is often the first step in establishing a digital accessibility program. It requires a comprehensive overview of who is impacted by disabilities, how accessibility fits into a company’s overall Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and organizational best practices. All of this and more are available in the 2022 Disability:IN Disability Equality Index (DEI) Report.

Be on the lookout for the marketing and social media campaign for the Procure Access initiative and Procure Access Statement kick off on September 7th.

Launched in July 2022, the Procure Access initiative is a business-to-business initiative facilitated by Disability:IN and a new component of the Disability:IN Digital Accessibility Program. It brings together companies that recognize the importance of buying and selling technology that is accessible to people with disabilities.

Procure Access companies believe that accessible procurement is essential to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts and is part of the foundation of a disability-inclusive workforce and customer base. The initiative develops and shares best practices for both buyers and sellers in a global cross-industry effort to grow the number of companies with accessible procurement programs.

The Procure Access Statement describes the pressing need to expand the number of businesses of all sizes that prioritize accessible procurement. The Statement identifies obstacles facing both buyers and sellers committed to technology products and services that disabled employees and customers can use. And it establishes shared goals of the companies who have signed the Statement, such as “Encourage the sharing of transparent, current, and accurate information about technology product and service accessibility.”

Upcoming Digital Accessibility Events at Disability:IN

Other Digital Accessibility Conferences and Events

Digital Accessibility Information and Resources

The Disability:IN digital accessibility team knows that the amount of accessibility resources can be overwhelming. Each month we share just a few of the many free resources from our Resource Library, our blog, our partners, or other sources that we think are great. Don’t forget to explore the Disability:IN Resource Library where you can filter resources by “accessibility” and find content created by Disability:IN and our partners.

Here are some resource suggestions for this month. If you are a Disability:IN partner and would like your accessibility resources featured in our monthly roundup, please let us know at [email protected].

External resource suggestions for this month are:

FDA Finalizes Historic Rule Enabling Access to Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids for Millions of Americans

LinkedIn announces the addition of 15 Accessibility related job titles available in the Experience section on the Profile page.

The titles include:

  • Accessibility Architect
  • Accessibility Manager
  • Accessibility Advocate
  • Accessibility Analyst
  • Accessibility Engineer
  • Accessibility Consultant
  • Accessibility Designer
  • Accessibility Support
  • Accessibility Product Manager
  • Accessibility Trainer
  • Accessibility Specialist
  • Accessibility Program Manager
  • Accessibility Tester
  • Accessibility Developer
  • …and Chief Accessibility Officer

News about the Disability:IN Digital Accessibility Team

We are grateful to Amy Warner of Intel for serving as the previous Digital Accessibility Leadership Committee Co-Chair. Amy has turned the role over to Monica Goel of CVS Health who along with Sam Latiff of P&G will be planning for the next years activities. If you are in an accessibility role and want to join a community of accessibility leaders then please consider representing your company in the Disability:IN Digital Accessibility Leadership Committee.

The Accessibility Advisory Committee is a globally diverse group of business leaders who come together to share their knowledge, strategies, and best practices to help organizations enhance and maintain accessibility policies and practices in the workplace, marketplace, and supply chain. The committee’s focus includes but is not limited to digital accessibility and all aspects of the built, operational, communication, program, procurement, and other environments. If interested in joining, please email Mackenzie Ward.