Includability Official Partner, Recite Me, has launched their Recruitment and Careers Report
Includability Official Partner, Recite Me, has launched their Recruitment and Careers Report which details the barriers the disabled community face and tips to support an inclusive candidate journey.
Over 13 million people in the UK are registered disabled. Many of which have a disability which present barriers to getting a job. These include, visual impairments, learning difficulties, neurodevelopment and neurological conditions, mobility and physical impairments, and linguistic problems.
With around 20% of the adult population affected by one or more of these conditions, a website can become difficult to access due to one of four main reasons:
Applicants Can’t Read It
For applicants with sight loss, colour blindness and deaf blindness, reading web copy can be difficult. The size of the text, the font and the colour contrast between the text and background can all be barriers to reading for those with learning difficulties like dyslexia, dyspraxia and hyperlexia.
Applicants Don’t Understand the Information
Users with cognitive and neurological disorders may have problems following the flow of the information if it is not written in simple language, doesn’t follow a logical order, use headers, or include alt tags and link descriptions.
Applicants Can’t Navigate Through the Application Process
Temporary or permanent physical disabilities can make accessing websites via a smartphone or tablet difficult and using equipment like a mouse may also be problematic. Website errors like empty links and buttons, missing input labels on forms, and missing document language makes keyboard navigation impossible meaning many people are unable to complete the application process.
Applicants Don’t Trust the Site
For those with epilepsy or other conditions that cause disorientation or confusion, elements like flashing images, videos, or image carousels that they can’t control are simply not worth the risk.
To counter these barriers, Recite Me offer some tips within the report which employers can follow to remove barriers within their application process:
Comply with Disability Discrimination Laws
Disabled and non-disabled applicants should be able to experience the same journey throughout the recruitment process. Under The Equality Act of 2010, employers are required by law to make reasonable adjustments for disabled jobseekers and employees.
Use Inclusive Web Design that Meets WCAG Standards
The World Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide a breakdown of accessibility factors. To meet minimum requirements, websites should be aiming for WCAG 2.1 at an AA level. Most reliable web developers are well aware of accessibility factors and can help you achieve an inclusive website design.
Ensure Your Social Media Profiles are as Accessible as Possible
Social media platforms have accessibility settings that you can change and interact with. Key points include providing alt tags for images and captions for videos.
Follow User Feedback to Make Changes and Updates
If you don’t feel confident running user testing yourself you can use an organisation like AbilityNet, the UK’s leading charity for digital accessibility. Once you have feedback you can analyse the data and set your design team to work on eliminating barriers for disabled users.
