Transcript: Pat Romzek Makes the Business Case for Implementing Accessible Technology

PEAT asked Pat Romzek of Cisco: If you were riding in an elevator with a Fortune 500 CEO, what’s your pitch for why implementing accessible technology matters?

I don’t think most CEOs understand the breadth, depth of people with disabilities globally and people that care about people with disabilities globally. It’s 15% of the workforce, you know, it’s fifty to sixty million people in the United States. So I don’t think most CEOs really understand how significant of a group people with disabilities are and the people that touch them. So if you have a special-needs child, if you have a family member with a disability, you know, you’re a pretty big advocate for people with disabilities. And I just think that business leaders need to understand not only what the potential impact is to their workforce but what the potential impact and opportunity is for their business and their brand associated with people with disabilities. I don’t think most of them understand that. So I would focus my energy around that.