TL;DR: They internalize the dominant paradigm: abled is good, disabled is bad. Exhibit #1: Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott Greg Abbott is a wheelchair user, only the third wheelchair-using governor in United States history. What happened that caused him to…
An open letter to the Medium powers-that-be on accessibility
The new design changes are pretty, but the experience for people with disabilities using assistive technology is still quite poor, especially for authors. Accessibility is the ability of people with disabilities to use software or consume information equally to people…
Inaccessibility is a disease. Why aren’t we doing more to cure it?
How many developers must know how to develop accessible code before “herd immunity” protects people with disabilities against inaccessibility? In the carbon-based lifeform world, herd immunity is achieved when the majority of a population is immune (either through infection or…
Accessibility issues that can’t be solved by tech
You can’t consider yourself accessible in the broadest sense of the word without considering non-technical factors that disproportionately impact people with disabilities There are two different categories of thought on the WCAG accessibility guidelines: WCAG is a goal, something that…
Female leaders are better at ensuring people with disabilities aren’t excluded
Good news, but simultaneously depressing because female leadership is so vastly underrepresented in both government and private business In the article “What Do Countries With The Best Coronavirus Responses Have In Common? Women Leaders,” the female leaders of Denmark, Iceland,…
Ten basic accessibility facts
All accessibility managers should be comfortable communicating the following facts and the reasons behind them. Fact #1: All accessibility (digital and physical) is a civil right. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law for people with disabilities.…
I’ve given up on the ADA to protect my rights as a person with a disability
The ADA requires you to litigate. Why isn’t there an office where I can just file a complaint? The ADA turned 30 on the day I published this article. Anyone who views the ADA as a complete success doesn’t understand…
Performative Disability Allyship
Are messengers seeking to disrupt ableism or just seeking praise for “taking a stand” that will never result in substantive change? Performative followed by any word implies that the messenger is acting in a performance. The messenger might think they…
Why ERG volunteer work is both important and masochistic
ERG roles can contribute to the fatigue/burnout that *every* underrepresented minority experiences at least once (and sometimes continually) in their lives It’s July. And if you aren’t in the US or don’t eat, live, breathe, and sleep disability as I…
Types of discrimination women with disabilities face while looking for work
Women are 20 % more likely to have a disability than men. Workforce discrimination of any form impacts us more. Note: every “bad” HR behavior listed in this article, I have had personally happen to me, or heard about first-hand…