5 Takeaways from the XR Access Symposium Report
What if a construction company could use virtual reality to train employees on worksite hazards from the safety of a conference room? Or an expert wind turbine technician could use augmented reality to guide on-site technicians through repairs, despite being in a different country? […]
Video: Chike Aguh Keynote, 2021 XR Access Symposium
The Keynote Address from the 2021 XR Access Symposium, presented by Chike Aguh (Chief Innovation Officer, US Department of Labor) with an introduction from Bill Curtis-Davidson (Co-Director, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology or “PEAT”) […]
Podcast: How Remote Internships Can Bridge the Disability Employment Gap
Ahva Sadeghi and Paula Mora, founders of Symba, discuss how companies can increase their access to a diverse talent pool through remote internship and apprenticeship programs. […]
Digital Accessibility in the Workplace with EARN
Did you know companies that hire people with disabilities earn 28% higher revenue, have twice the net income, and have 30% higher economic profit margins than their peers? To ensure this underrepresented talent pool can succeed within your organization, you need to focus on accessibility. […]
Video: How Employers & HR Professionals Can Prepare for Emerging Tech in the Workplace
Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual and augmented reality (XR), will shape the workplace of the future. They will change how organizations hire, train, and support employees, including those with disabilities. […]
Podcast: Ethics and Bias in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology
Merve Hickok, Founder of AIethicist.org, discusses the risks employers carry when they use AI-enabled technology in HR and the questions they should ask vendors to avoid bias and discrimination. . […]
Teach Access: A Case Study
Teach Access was launched in 2015 to address the critical need of including digital accessibility in the technology curricula for students at the college and university level. This case study provides an in-depth look at these steps and outlines how the Teach Access Initiative is evolving and laying the groundwork for its next phase of maturity. […]
SXSW 2021 PanelPicker Session: Disability-Led Innovation in Future Workplaces
Imagine a global economy that actively works to level the playing field across race, gender and class, and which also considers disability, the one dimension of diversity that crosses all others. How can we inclusively design technologies like AR and AI, that will power future augmented workplaces, so we don’t exclude 1.3B people with disabilities (PWDs)? How can we leverage the creativity, skills, and experiences [...]
Podcast: Using Technology to Bridge the Disability Employment Gap
Charlotte Dales, CEO of Inclusively, discusses the potential of algorithm-based networking tools to transform how employers reach candidates with disabilities, mental health conditions, and chronic illness. […]
Why Employers Should Allow Audio-Only Status on Calls
Virtual meetings have many advantages, like enabling team collaboration without geographic barriers. However, video calls have also been proven to cause burnout, especially when they take place throughout the day. […]
Podcast: Disability-Led Innovation in Future Workplaces
Business strategist Jonathan Kaufman discusses how disability–the dimension of diversity that crosses all others–offers an innovative framework for the future of work to help businesses gain a competitive advantage. […]
CSUN 2021
PEAT hosted two timely sessions at the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. Co-directors Corinne Weible and Bill Curtis-Davidson led “Inclusive Telework, Today and Tomorrow” to help attendees learn how to make telework more accessible. Bill Curtis-Davidson also led the session "Future Workplaces Enabled by Inclusive Extended Reality” with fellow presenters Elizabeth Hyman of XR Association and Mike Shebanek of Facebook. Download slides for Telework Today & Tomorrow
Webinar: Physical Environment/Ergonomics
As we know from our everyday experience, the environments, products and services we use at home, work and in our community are not always designed to suit all people. As COVID-19 has disrupted most of the world’s workplace environments, it's important that we pay attention to our home work physical environment. Participants will gain knowledge about principles of universal design and practical strategies to make your physical environment more productive and safer. Topics such as environmental aspects, controls and tools, workstations, [...]
Telework Accessibility and the Law
This resource covers United States policies that apply to telework accessibility. In short, U.S. policies require most private and public employers who offer telework to ensure their telework tools are accessible. […]
Podcast: Building Neurodiverse Talent Pools
Jhillika Kumar, Founder and CEO of Mentra, discusses how to create meaningful career opportunities for neurodiverse job seekers. […]
XR Access Forges Ahead
Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies (collectively called XR) have advanced in the last decade, but some developers have overlooked accessibility in their designs. XR Association (XRA) worked with members of XR Access, including people with disabilities, to address this challenge. […]
Making Web Content Accessible
Today’s content management systems (CMS) have made the process of updating a website easier than ever. However, this also means that many different people may be involved in uploading and editing your site’s content. While the average employee doesn’t need to know the nuts and bolts of digital accessibility, anyone involved with the website needs to understand how to upload accessible content. For example, everyone should know how to add [...]
Writing Accessible Emails
Email is a primary way of connecting with new and existing audiences, so you’ll want to ensure that the messages you send are accessible. Luckily, the process for making emails accessible for people with disabilities is similar to making any other document accessible. Text-only emails sent from a personal email client are simpler from an accessibility perspective than image-heavy marketing emails. An email incorporating different content sections and multiple images [...]
Making Documents Accessible
Word processing documents must be designed so that people with and without disabilities can easily access and edit them. In particular, people who are blind, people with low vision, and people with dyslexia may use a screen reader or Braille device to navigate the document. […]
4 Elements of an Accessible Meeting Platform
What makes a remote meeting platform accessible to people with disabilities? When evaluating options, you’ll want to consider these 4 elements to make sure your platform is accessible. […]
Creating Accessible Data Visualizations on the Web
In the age of technology, data is everywhere. The volume of data we encounter can be overwhelming, especially if it relates a concept that is new to us or comes without context. What’s more, the rate of data being collected is doubling every two years! […]
Podcast: Exploring the ROI of Diversity and Equity
Jill Houghton, President and CEO of Disability:IN, discusses the positive impact of disability employment and inclusion on business’s bottom line. […]
Video: Lydia X. Z. Brown on the Potential of Accessible Workplace Technology
Lydia is Policy Council for the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Director of Policy, Advocacy, and External Affairs at the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network. In this video interview, Lydia dives into the accessibility of Artificial Intelligence (or AI) and the implications of AI and machine learning for people with disabilities. Video transcriptPEAT. Building a future that works.Hi, I’m Josh Christianson, co-director of the Partnership on Employment and [...]
The Virtual Workplace: PEAT Priorities and Next Steps
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically reshaped the concept of the “workplace.” Many people have rapidly shifted to working remotely, though essential jobs do remain in-person. This recent change brings both opportunities and challenges, and they are heightened for people with disabilities (PWD) who can only engage virtually if their technology is accessible. […]
Video: Ather Sharif on the Potential of Accessible Workplace Technology
Ather is a Software Engineer at Comcast and Founder of EvoXLabs. In this video he discusses accessibility in the era of telework, the importance of bringing the voices of people with disabilities to the table when designing technologies, and offers his advice on how employers can ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in a tech driven workplace. Video transcript PEAT. Building a future that works. Hi I’m Josh [...]
