Commit to Inclusion
- Boost diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives by actively seeking out and hiring people with disabilities.
- Read the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) guidance on building an inclusive workforce.
- Foster a culture of inclusion and accessibility in the workplace by expressing a commitment to disability inclusion.
- Consider seeking out talent using inclusive apprenticeships, remote internships and leveraging disability employment platforms.
- Leverage any existing digital accessibility programs that your organization has in place.
- Learn more about starting or enhancing a digital accessibility program using PEAT’s TechCheck tool.
Engage Employees with Disabilities
- Read EARN’s Toolkit for Establishing and Maintaining Successful Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
- Work with your organization’s ERG for Disability Inclusion to determine what accessibility needs exist. With this ERG, you should try to determine the specific needs of employees who will use immersive workplace technologies.
- Tap into ERGs to assess the immersive platforms and applications your organization is considering. You should engage ERGs to get advice on designing, planning, implementing or supporting XR technologies, applications and content.
Engage Procurement
- Work with purchasing staff to build accessibility and usability into your ICT procurement process. Refer to PEAT’s Buy IT! Toolkit for help.
- Ask vendors about the accessibility of their immersive technology platform hardware, software, apps or content that you may purchase or license.
- Request an Accessibility Conformance Report or Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)®.
- Review any existing accessibility documentation and support systems the vendor can share.
- Consider that your immersive technology hardware devices will likely be procured separately from apps or content.
- For example, your organization might procure mixed reality head-mounted displays (HMDs). These HMDs may include an operating system and a suite of core apps, then require you to license additional content and applications separately.
- Refer to the procurement guidance detailed in this Toolkit for questions to ask vendors about the accessibility of their XR technologies.
Participate in Community Initiatives
- XR Access is a community-driven initiative that works to advance the accessibility of XR platforms, applications and content. XR Access offers a collection of resources, workstreams and a research network.
- The annual XR Access Symposium is a key conference for gathering the latest news on accessible XR solutions. Other XR technology conferences are also beginning to focus more on inclusion and accessibility.
- There are numerous digital accessibility and inclusion conferences that can help employers build their knowledge and network.
Leverage Emerging Guidance
- The XR Association (XRA) Developers Guide, Chapter Three: Accessibility & Inclusive Design in Immersive Experiences, includes suggestions for ensuring XR technologies are usable and useful for everyone.
- XR platform manufacturers like Magic Leap, Meta and Microsoft now offer developer guidance and resources.
- The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published community-developed user requirements and other working group notes that apply to immersive technologies. Check the list below for topic-specific information.
