This First Person column is the experience of Peter Tonge, a disability advocate and consultant based in Winnipeg. Airline travel can be stressful for anyone, and particularly for a person with a disability. A disabled traveller has the usual concerns, such as scheduling and connections, but also the additional concern about the safety of their… Continue reading AIRLINES CAN’T SEEM TO SAFELY TRANSPORT MY WHEELCHAIR, BUT THEY’VE FOUND A WAY TO MOVE HORSES BY AIR

A Wisconsin man said he is frustrated by how others won’t meet their obligation to clear sidewalks after it snows. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Milwaukee resident Matt Felton, who is a wheelchair user, spent part of the day clearing snow and ice off of sidewalks. “A couple of days ago, a lady posted that… Continue reading Man unable to walk shovels snow to raise awareness about accessibility

Cloud-based collaboration tools have improved workplace accessibility for people with disabilities. But IT leaders must examine where collaboration tools still fall short. A key benefit to the adoption of remote work and cloud collaboration tools during the COVID-19 pandemic was overcoming employment barriers for people with disabilities. Over the last three years, collaboration providers rapidly… Continue reading Collaboration tools help and hinder workplace accessibility

Nadia Mattiazzo remembers going to her regular café one day back in 2016 and trying to buy a cup of coffee. To her shock and dismay, she found there was no way she could pay for it. Mattiazzo, who is blind, said the café had installed a new eftpos machine overnight which had a touchscreen.… Continue reading ‘They’re everywhere’: Why touchscreens are causing huge accessibility problems for blind people

After several rounds of layoffs, Twitter’s staff is down from about 7,500 employees to less than 2,000 — and one of the numerous cuts across the company eliminated the platform’s entire accessibility team last year. In an open letter to Elon Musk, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) called on the new Twitter owner to bring the… Continue reading SENATOR MARKEY CALLS ON ELON MUSK TO REINSTATE TWITTER’S ACCESSIBILITY TEAM

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the employment-to-population ratio among working-age people with disabilities is approximately 30 percent. That’s significantly lower than the ratio for working-age people without disabilities which is about 74 percent. The reasoning for this discrepancy is debatable. However, the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) categorized the seven most common barriers… Continue reading 7 Disability-Related Considerations When Interviewing For and Accepting a Job

Five simple, cost-effective ways to make your company a place all people want to work. With major corporations like Microsoft making an active effort to acquire disabled talent through inclusive hiring programs, it’s no surprise that more disabled people are entering the workforce. In fact, according to 2019 numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, close to 20… Continue reading How to Make Accommodations That Attract and Motivate Workers With Disabilities

What can we do as entrepreneurs and business owners to support neurodiverse folks in the workplace? Include them in our DEI plans. When we think of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), we often think of race, gender, sexual orientation and physical disability. But what about mental and cognitive diversity? These days, more and more people are… Continue reading How Leaders Can Support and Embrace The Untapped Potential of Neurodiverse Talent

In The Jetsons, George Jetson’s job consisted of sitting down in a chair and pushing a single button. His computer handled the rest. We’re here to bring you some Jetsons-level good news: these days, you can automate a lot of small business admin that wasn’t possible even ten years ago. Automation can make many workflows a whole lot… Continue reading 19 Things Your Small Business Should Automate