Global Accessibility Awareness Day

May 18th is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. A day to help us think about ways to make our offices, communication methods, and products more accessible to those with physical or cognitive disabilities.

Our Accessibility & Allies Network at Reward Gateway is on an EP!C mission to ensure that Reward Gateway as an employer and Reward Gateway's products are inclusive and accessible to everyone. Check out the blog below, where we share a quick reminder on Accessibility, why it is important to create a workplace that supports those with disabilities, and some resources for further learning. 

Why it is essential to make a workplace that supports those with disabilities

There are lots of legal reasons, but ALSO:

• 50.7% of the disabled population over sixteen in Bulgaria is at risk of extreme poverty and social exclusion
• One in five of the working-age population in the UK was classed as disabled
• The US recorded an increase of 1.7 million disabled persons in the workforce since the COVID-19 pandemic began
• Not all disabilities are apparent to others - for 1 in 4 of those with a disability in Australia, their primary form of disability is mental or behavioral
• It helps us make RG a better place to work! In our last EPIC DE&I Survey, 10% of respondees shared they have a physical disability, and 6% shared they have a neurological condition

What we’ve done to improve Accessibility on our platform

Since our mission is to make the world a better place to work, not only is it important to make Accessibility a priority in our workplace, it is important our product and technology are accessible as well. We've made the following updates to our platform to help improve Accessibility over the years.

1. Improved Accessibility Statement – this is usually a dull and difficult to read document. It’s legally required to have certain things mentioned in it, but we did our best to make it easier to read and then shared it on our engagement platform for all to see.
2. Improved System Emails- our team has worked hard to ensure that all employees can easily access and use the content in our emails. From improved formatting to clearer text, these enhancements will ensure that everyone can enjoy the benefits of our SmartSpending program. We're committed to accessibility for all, and we're always looking for ways to make our platform better.
3. Created an Accessibility Awareness page – it’s linked in the Accessibility Statement and available on any scheme on our platform, meaning all of our clients automatically have this built in.
4. Created an Accessibility guide for clients - we wanted to ensure clients our clients are building accessible SmartHubs using our tools and technology as well, so we put an article on our Success portal.
5. Created an Accessibility video explaining why accessibility matters. We are really proud of it as it was done in- house by the Product Usability team. Watch it below.
   
   

Further Learning 

Learn about the experiences of those with different abilities.

Wheelchair user Hannah Barham-Brown spent a day rolling around London to share some of the challenges wheelchair users and other disabled people experience navigating in cities.

Movie Recommendations 🎥

Check out Crip Camp on Netflix "A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes a group of teens with disabilities to help build a movement, forging a new path toward greater equality."

Watch The Sound of Metal on Amazon Prime "Metal drummer Ruben begins to lose hearing. When a doctor tells him his condition will worsen, he thinks his career and life are over."

Try The Peanut Butter Falcon on Amazon Prime "The story follows the adventure of a young man with Down Syndrome who runs away from an assisted living facility and stows away on a small fishing boat."

Book Recommendations 📚

Use our book benefit to learn more about Accessibility.

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist "Is a story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society."

How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive "Human potential is unleashed when we feel like we belong. That's why inclusive workplaces experience higher engagement, performance, and profits. But the reality is that many people still feel unable to bring their true selves to work. In a world where the talent pool is becoming increasingly diverse, it's more important than ever for leaders to truly understand how to support inclusion."

Inclusive Design for a Digital World: Designing with Accessibility in Mind (Design Thinking) "In Inclusive Design for a Digital World, multiple crucial aspects of technological accessibility are confronted, followed by step-by-step solutions from User Experience Design professor and author Regine Gilbert."

We hope you found this post helpful. If you would like to learn more about Accessibility and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Reward Gateway, visit rg.co/diversity.