A global survey conducted by AbilityNet shows that, despite widespread senior endorsement of accessibility and inclusion, most organisations still need to adapt their project processes to embed accessibility. They are also failing to adapt their procurement policies and processes, leaving a back door open to accessibility and compliance complaints.

The Attitudes to Digital Accessibility survey was completed by almost 500 people from around the world and launched at AbilityNet's annual conference TechShare Pro conference on 17 November 2022. The full report has now been published and reveals a mixed picture of digital accessibility improvements and barriers. It also points to the next steps any organisation can take to improve the accessibility of its services and workplace.

Key findings

AbilityNet worked with Open Inclusion, a disability and age-inclusive research, design and innovation agency, to design the survey and analyse its results, the key findings of which show:

1. Leadership: Positive change is coming from the top. Respondents from executive and senior level roles prioritised accessibility more highly than those in more operational roles. Leaders were also more positive than managers and non-managerial respondents in their perception of their organisation’s business performance and commitment to digital accessibility. 
    
2. Motivations: The main motivator for accessibility is legal requirements, followed by brand values and reputation. There is still relatively low understanding and appreciation of the importance of digital accessibility to achieve core business objectives such as revenue maximisation, customer or employee satisfaction and retention, product lifecycle cost management and innovation. 
    
3. Capability: Accessibility training is not provided as standard in most organisations, with limited or no formal or centralised guidance for developing accessibility skills.
    
4. Processes: There is a clear opportunity for development or improvement of documented, clear and well-maintained accessibility processes, to embed accessibility more consistently and efficiently, and ensure more consistent and efficient delivery across digital products, departments and roles.
    
5. Procurement: Only 1 in 3 respondents said guidance existed within their organisation to help them consider whether external services would be accessible when integrated into their business or included in a website, app or other digital assets. This provides the risk of an open “side door” to inaccessible experiences through vendors’ products.
    

Gary Moore, CEO of AbilityNet, commented on the survey results: 

“This survey has helped us take stock of what is happening in the broader accessibility community and paints a somewhat mixed picture. However, you'll discover there are more positive responses than negative across all of the survey topics covered, and there's a general picture of digital accessibility finally being on the agenda for senior leadership in a majority of organisations.”
 

Read the report

[An accessible Word version is also available to download]

Further report findings

Half of the respondents agreed that there is a clearly stated vision for digital accessibility within their organisation, and just over half feel that there is commitment from leaders to progress digital accessibility. 

Just under half (46%) agreed to some extent that their organisation helps them develop digital accessibility skills. However, the majority of these are “to some extent” with just 1 in 6 people agreeing strongly, the same number who disagree strongly. This shows that opportunities for skills development are still very mixed.    

Less than 1 in 3 (33%) respondents agreed to some extent and almost the same number (30%) disagreed to some extent with the following statement about Procurement: ‘My organisation ensures that purchasing practices and decisions help us maintain or progress our digital accessibility objectives.’

Accessibility and Procurement is an Achilles Heel

Mark Walker, Head of Marketing and Portfolio at AbilityNet, says of the findings:

“There are several areas which raise concerns about how deeply the commitment from senior leadership towards digital accessibility reaches, especially when looking at where accessibility fits into processes. A low priority is given to procurement, for example, which remains an Achilles Heel for many of the organisations we work with at AbilityNet.”

About the survey: Attitudes to Digital Accessibility 2022

AbilityNet’s annual survey was open for responses from 20 September to 3 October 2022. A total of 447 respondents have been included in the full dataset. 

Read the report

[An accessible Word version is also available to download]

Access the survey methodology.

Further resources:

• Blog: 5 ways to accelerate your digital accessibility agenda
• Get vital accessibility and inclusion training - 10% off all courses using AbilityNetTraining10
• Download your free Digital Accessibility Maturity Model
• White Paper 2021: What the C-Suite thinks about digital accessibility
• Your free copy of Accessibility Champions White Paper

Guest blogger Colin Hughes puts Apple’s autumn hardware and software updates under the microscope and looks ahead to what more the company needs to do around voice accessibility in 2023.

Colin is a former BBC producer who campaigns for greater access and affordability of technology for disabled people. Colin is a regular contributor to Aestumanda.

Voice technology aids independence

Apple’s voice technology, baked into the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac computers, has prevented a lot of shrinkage in my independence in recent years, and in some areas of my life has extended my independence.

As my progressive muscle wasting disability, muscular dystrophy, has become more challenging to live with I have turned to voice technology to get things done. It gives me independence, makes me feel safe, and instils confidence and peace of mind. The confidence to go out for a walk alone in my wheelchair knowing help is a Siri voice request away, if I had a problem.

There’s a lot of focus at the moment on new features for the iPhone and Apple Watch like car crash detection, and satellite SOS if you find yourself stuck in some remote place like the Sahara Desert.
 
However, people like me can get into problems in more mundane situations. For example, inside my home, going to the shops, or heading to the pub down the road. With Siri to help me make a phone call, control my smart home, or send a message hands-free, I have a lot more confidence and independence indoors, and away from home.

Apple Accessibility and HomeKit

This video shows how Apple Accessibility features and smart home tech has enabled me to maximise my independ​ence:​​​​​​

Three updates that make a big difference

This autumn has seen a slew of Apple software and hardware releases, including iOS 16, macOS Ventura, watchOS 9, the iPhone 14, Apple Watch Series 8 and the new Ultra smart watch (pictured) as well as AirPods Pro 2, but what do they offer severely disabled people who rely on voice commands to control their devices.
 
I often find that it can be the smallest things in hardware and software that can make the difference when it comes to accessibility. In the past few weeks Apple has introduced three accessibility features that might sound quite small but are making a big difference to my independence.
 
I have been calling for these improvements for the past four years, and I am delighted Apple has listened, and that all three are present in the company’s recent updates.

1. Siri call hang up

iPhone users have long been able to ask Siri to initiate a phone call, but there was no way to ask the voice assistant to hang up a call. That left me reliant on the person on the other end of the line to do this for me – or left me stuck in a voicemail box unable to terminate a phone call.
 
Apple has fixed this in iOS 16 – and it has meant a huge amount to me, and others who rely on voice to control our Apple gear. I’m not one for public displays of emotion but being able to hang up my own phone call on my iPhone for the first time ever, hands-free, with just my voice, was a special moment! Lump in the throat, a well-up-in-the-eyes moment! The sheer relief of finally being able to do what many take for granted was a special moment I will never forget. 
 
Siri call hang up is a very inclusive feature and should be useful for anyone who has their hands full. For example, washing up and not wanting to touch your phone screen with wet or dirty hands.

2. Auto-answer calls

In 2016 I successfully campaigned for Apple to introduce auto-answer calls on the iPhone. Since then, you have been able to have phone calls auto-answered hands-free without touching the iPhone – but you couldn’t toggle the feature on and off via a Siri voice command. iOS 16 fixes this.
 
Some disabled people find it easier to set their iPhone to auto-answer incoming calls.  However, one of the great ironies has been that a feature designed for people who have problems touching the iPhone screen up until now required them to do something they couldn’t: Go into settings and flip an on-screen toggle to turn on auto-answer.

So, for the past couple years I have been calling on Apple to enable Siri to turn auto answer on and off with a voice command “Hey Siri turn on auto answer”. I am delighted the company has listened and the ability is now here in iOS 16 and watchOS 9.
 
I don’t want auto answer on all the time, and I want to be able to turn it on and off myself without having to ask a carer for help. Personal independence is so important to disabled people, practically and psychologically, and technology can really help with this. This feature may sound niche, but it is massive for people like me.

3. Update to Announce notifications

A year ago, in iOS 15 Apple introduced the ability to have messages announced when wearing the company’s AirPods, and reply to messages with your voice as they come in. 

A year on in iOS 16 Apple has extended the announce notifications feature so you don’t need to wear AirPods for it to work. The feature will now work on the iPhone speaker, which is helpful when my iPhone is sat on a charger stand on my desk next to my MacBook.
 
These three updates may not seem a lot to some people, but they add up to a lot in my day-to-day life, and the ease and independence they offer cannot be overstated.

Future accessibility improvements wish list

The job of improving and extending tech accessibility is never done.

Looking ahead to next year these are the accessibility improvements I would like to see from Apple in 2023.

Smarter replies to messages

Although a Siri command lets you reply to messages, I believe it could be smarter.
 
My friend Jane sent me a message on WhatsApp recently. I listened to her message as it came in with Announce notifications. I forgot to reply to her for about two minutes after I listened to her message. At that point I said, “Hey Siri reply to Jane” and even though I used the word “reply” it defaulted, without telling me, to sending the message I dictated by iMessage/ SMS and not WhatsApp – where Jane’s message two minutes earlier originated via WhatsApp. This confused Jane.
 
You can instruct Siri to “Reply with WhatsApp,” but it should automatically use the same messaging platform – and ideally note which chat apps you use with which contacts.

A read back toggle, when sending messages

iOS offers two toggles that should ensure Siri always reads back dictated messages before sending – but they don’t work reliably in iOS 16. It would be better to have a single toggle to instruct Siri to never send a message without a read back. 
 
I have Automatically Send Messages set to OFF and Reply without Confirmation OFF and yet when dictating and sending new messages, or replying to messages, what you dictate is rarely read back to you by Siri before the message is sent. In effect, your user preference settings are being ignored.
 
I have recently discovered there is a way of getting your dictated messages read out to you before sending, all you need to say is “read it” before sending, but I preferred the previous iOS 15 behaviour where you were given a choice whether to change the message, or to send it.
 
I am pleased to note there is a new Siri accessibility setting in iOS 16.2 beta 3 released in the past few days that should help with this, so it looks like a fix is on the way next month when iOS 16.2 is released to the public. 

Access older messages

The iPhone lets Siri read out incoming messages immediately after they arrive – but not if some time has passed. Siri asks you to unlock your phone first, which is not something that can be done when someone is entirely dependent on voice control. I believe this, and other issues, could be solved with a new iPhone unlock method. 

iPhone unlock via voice authentication

Voice Control does let users speak their passcode, but this isn’t secure when around other people. Given that Siri on HomePod can now recognise individual voices, being able to unlock your iPhone by simply saying, “Hey Siri, unlock my phone” and having it check for a voice match before doing so would be perfect.

Keyboard dictation with Siri to send a message

The new keyboard dictation enhancement in iOS 16 means that, for the first time, iPhone owners can seamlessly switch between typing and dictation. But in this mode, there is no way to instruct Siri to actually send the message with a voice command as you can on a Pixel 7 phone.

Automate auto-answer calls with Siri Shortcuts 

Now that you can turn auto-answer on and off with a Siri voice command in iOS 16 I would now like to see Apple go further and intelligently automate it.

I would love to be able to create a Shortcut to automatically enable auto-answer when my carer puts in my AirPods, or puts the Apple Watch on for me.

Improvements to Voice Dictation on the Mac

While Siri dictation on the iPhone is incredibly helpful for short messages, there are still significant shortcomings in Voice Control dictation for longer dictation on a MacBook that can be incredibly frustrating when you are trying to write a report, blog post, work assignment, or essay.

To offer up real-world illustrations: 

• a) I have a friend called Wojtek, which isn’t in Voice control vocabulary. I have added his name in custom vocabulary with a capital “W” Wojtek. However, when I dictate his name, Voice Control dictation always transcribes with a small “w” wojtek. 
• b) I frequently communicate with a company called SpeechWare. I have added the company name to custom vocabulary with a capital “S” and “W,” but when I dictate the word it is transcribed as “speechWare.”

There are further strange anomalies with the way Apple dictation handles grammar. Both Voice Control dictation and Siri dictation always transcribe sun (the fiery orb) as Sun with a capital S, (like the UK tabloid newspaper), even when you are dictating a sentence about the weather!

The verb “will” is often transcribed as “Will” – as in the man’s name – when the context should make it obvious you mean the verb, for example saying, “It will be hot later.” These sorts of errors are annoyingly common and draining to have to constantly clear up. 

Spelling Mode should add entries to custom vocabulary

The new Voice Control “spelling mode” in macOS Ventura (only in the US at the moment) allows you spell out words that dictation doesn’t understand – but it doesn’t remember your preferred spelling of a word, so the same mistakes keep happening. This is so inefficient.

Voice Focus mode for dictation

When you don’t have the luxury of dictating in a very quiet, studio-like environment and you rely on dictation for everything you write, and thus need to be able to dictate in noisier environments too, the MacBook internal microphones work less well – which is why I use a SpeechWare external one.

In the recently released Surface 9 Pro, it appears that Microsoft may have come up with a solution to this. They call it Voice Focus mode and the feature uses AI to isolate a voice, and discard background sounds. This is something I would love to see Apple do for disabled users who are completely reliant on dictation.

Always-on Hey Siri on the Apple Watch

You can set the iPhone to always be listening for Hey Siri voice commands, but not so on the Apple Watch. That is, you can choose the setting, but it requires you to twist your wrist and lift it to wake the watch first – something severely disabled people can’t do.

I’m sure that limited battery life has been the reason for this Siri behavior on the Apple Watch, but with the recent release of the new Apple Watch Ultra with its three-day battery life, I would happily accept a reduced 1.5-day battery life if Siri could truly be always listening without any wrist movement required, just as it is on the iPhone.

Looking to the future releases

It’s been a stellar year for voice accessibility and Apple technology, particularly for those of us who rely on voice enhancements. Apple has clearly been listening to what disabled users have been saying, and that’s great to see. However, there is more work to do if Apple devices and operating systems are going to be truly accessible to disabled people. 

If you are an Apple user and have accessibility issues or suggestions Colin would be interested in hearing from you: info@aestumanda.com 

Colin may not be able to reply to everyone, but welcomes feedback.

Further resources:

• Blog: New microphone invented for speech recognition
• Blog: Siri can now answer your calls ... but can't hang up
• Webinar playback: How Apple prioritises inclusion
• Factsheet: How to complain about inaccessible websites
• Training course: Accessible Social Media

Smiling Face With Smiling Eyes, Smiling Cat Face With Heart-Eyes, Hundred Points. If you don’t recognise those descriptions, perhaps you’re more familiar with their pictoral form – they're emojis.

An emoji is a graphic symbol that resembles animals, a physical object, human action, or an emotion. They are used in electronic messages, sometimes web pages but most often used in social media posts. Emojis have also become a useful way to communicate amongst the disabled community.

In our Don’t Disable Me: How you can avoid creating barriers for disabled people webinar, AbilityNet’s workplace inclusion experts with lived experience of disabilities mentioned how emojis can help neurodivergent individuals.  

AbilityNet Accessibility and Usability Consultant Rina Wharton, who is autistic and dyslexic, shared in the webinar how she tends to struggle a lot with facial expressions and body language, as well as written intentions. Rina shared how she uses emojis often to get her feelings across to someone else. “While writing, I know I can be very direct, because of my autism. I tend to use emojis to indicate, I'm joking. Or this is a funny thing,” she explained. 

While Adam Tweed, our workplace inclusion expert who also has experience with mental health conditions, shared how emojis have been an effective way to reduce anxiety and build trust with his colleagues, especially while working remotely.  

Emojis are eye-catching and fun to use but the real question is: Are emojis accessible?  

Like many digital practices, things can be accessible if done in an inclusive manner or process. Here are four top tips on how to keep emojis accessible. 

1. Don't overuse your emojis

Although emojis are fun to use and can make your social media posts stand out, you should be wary of using too many emojis. Emojis can often make your social media posts difficult to read for everyone, but in particular, for screen reader users who hear the short description (also known as alternative / alt text) for every emoji used. 

2. Use but don’t replace

Try not to use emojis as a replacement for a word. For example, if you are substituting the word “scary” with a scared emoji face, although some may be able to convey your message meaning, for a screen reader user a post may read “Halloween was so - face screaming in fear - this year”. Use an emoji at the end of a sentence so your message is clear for all.   

3. Remember to test emoji visibility in both dark and light modes   

Most often emojis look great in light mode on your digital device, however it is important to check how the emoji you want to use displays in dark mode as well. The higher the level of contrast the more accessible the emoji will be.

 

Image displays a black heart, new moon with a smiling face and paw print emojis against dark mode chat box.

4. Steer clear of emoticons

Emotions are punctuation marks, letters, and numbers used to create something that generally resembles an emotion. The most common emoticon is the smiley face.  For example, if you put it like this: :). Sometimes screen reader users may just hear "semicolon parentheses”.  It’s best to avoid emoticons and use emojis instead as they have alt text.  

The key takeaway for accessible emojis use is to use them sparingly and never in place of a word.  

For more emoji advice why not read?: 

• Top tip: Emojis for everyone in Windows 10
• Easy emojis for the blind with free Mac utility Rocket 
• How to use VoiceOver, the screen reader in iOS 15 on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. In this MyComputerMyWay guide, learn how to either turn off emoji VoiceOver announcements or ensure VoiceOver says ‘emoji’ after reading the name of the emoji
• Access our Dyslexia webinar where the accessibility of emojis is also mentioned 

Disabled people continue to face barriers at their place of work every day. As an employer, manager, or team leader, you can help remove barriers for everyone, including disabled employees and candidates, by creating a more inclusive workplace.  

A great way to learn how to remove barriers in the workplace is to understand disability inclusion and build on your accessibility skills. Taking place online on 15, 16 and 17 November 2022, is AbilityNet's TechShare Pro, Europe’s largest gathering of accessibility and disability inclusion professionals - and their allies.  

We've listed some key TechShare Pro sessions and workshops, where you can expand your learning on how to create accessible and inclusive workplaces and why it's important. These sessions can also help make the case for senior leaders to invest in disability inclusion. 
 

1. Keynote: Why inclusion is good for business - 15th November at 10am GMT 

While inclusion is beneficial to all, it also improves your business. Inclusion and accessibility can strengthen your brand, strategy, and relationship with employees and customers. 

Join this exciting keynote session to learn from Ian Stuart, CEO of HSBC UK, and Alex Mahon, CEO of Channel 4 as they discuss and provide examples of how embracing inclusivity and accessibility benefits their organisations.

2. Lunch and Learn session: Designing for neurodiversity – 17th November at 1pm GMT

As well as workshops, join our lunch and learn sessions with a community three-day ticket and learn from not one, but two neurodiversity focussed sessions.  

Led by AbilityNet's accessibility consultants, Rina Wharton and Ashley Peacock, who have lived experience of neurodiversity, join this workshop to discover the solutions, technology and designs that exist to help remove neurodiversity barriers online and in workplace settings. 

3. Disability Policy and Strategy - 16th November at 10:45am GMT

What is happening to disability policy in the UK and Europe? Do we need more carrots? Or bigger sticks? Catch up on the latest news about Disability Policy and Strategy in the UK and Europe. 

Enjoy 50 interactive workshops and discussions focussing on accessibility, maturity models, creative leadership and much more with an affordable TechShare Pro three-day community ticket. You will be able to access recordings for all sessions - just in case you can't make it to all three days. 

Book your three day community ticket

Check out the full programme

Book your Champions bundle tickets 

Your whole organisation can attend TechShare Pro and build its accessibility and inclusion knowledge and skills together with our Champions bundle offer! Use our special pricing for unlimited community tickets for your organisation.

Sign up for a free streaming-only ticket
 

Further Resources

• Find out more about TechShare Pro 2022
• Keep up to date with accessibility issues with the AbilityNet newsletter
• Find out about AbilityNet's free live webinars
• Download our FREE guide on 'How to build an accessibility champions' network' 
• Unsure where to start with digital accessibility? Speak to our experts for help