Microsoft renews commitment to accessibility

Microsoft icons for wheelchair users, cognition, signing and mobility. Microsoft commitment to accessibility.The ‘disability divide’ is only set to get wider. So it’s good news that Microsoft plans to to be more accessible and inclusive. That includes their workforce culture as well as accessible technologies described in their Inclusive Design Toolkit. Microsoft’s commitment to accessibility includes people with disability in their action plans.

According to an article in an IT industry magazine, Microsoft plans to increase training and recruitment of people with disability. It plans to use industry collaboration and recruitment across GitHub, LinkedIn and Microsoft Learn communities. Suppliers are another group they are targeting for creating a culture of accessibility.

A black and white graphic of stick people in various states of being.In 2019 Microsoft produced an Inclusive Design Toolkit.  Their key advice is to recognise exclusion, solve for one and extend to many, and learn from diversity. You can download the toolkit in sections. it has case studies and videos.

The magazine article is titled, Microsoft pledges to bridge ‘disability divide’ with renewed commitment to disability, has more detail about the use of AI in software. 

Good that companies that promote inclusive products and services are realising they need an inclusive workforce.