Disability Equality and Web Accessibility Resources

Transgender and Transsexual Equality Resources
Financial Exclusion and Poverty Resources
Feminist T-Shirts

The short answer is everyone.

The long answer is everyone, and here's why. It might be that you found this page because you are a teacher and have been told that a girl who will be in your class next year is blind, and you want to know how to help. Or that you have become suddenly disabled and want to learn more about your rights and options. But sadly, many people ignore the subject until a situation like this arises. The fact is that we could all be affected by disability at any time, as could those around us. And if we fail to plan for its possibility, then if it does happen we will have to do a lot of very fast learning, in order to cope.

Those who argue that they don't have to learn about this as it does not affect them are perhaps missing something. Have you ever considered why it doesn't affect you? Going back to the situations at the top of the page...

The employer who does not learn about disability issues because none of his staff are disabled doesn't seem to have considered that the reason he does not employ any disabled staff (who could be the perfect fit for a job with him) is that his premises are inaccessible. His lack of motivation to learn and make changes affects his future potential workforce as well as reflects his current one. He may be waiting for a disabled person to plead with him before he will act, but in reality disabled people will just look the other way and give another company their knowledge and expertise.

The nightclub owner who has not made their premises accessible because everyone knows disabled people don't go clubbing has lost out as a result of this attitude. Little does he know that down the road is a rival nightclub making a tidy profit every weekend because, as the only accessible nightclub in town, it is an inevitable venue for disabled party-goers, who treat it with loyalty. Their friends, who have increasingly become aware of disability even if they are not disabled themselves, also go there nearly every weekend, as their increasing consciousness around accessibility issues makes them not want to give their custom to a business that their friends would be unable to come to.

These are just two examples of where "I'll study it when it becomes relevant to me" and "They're not my target group" thinking leads to a lack of action which damages not only the disabled community, but also the prospects of individual people's lives and business success.

So, repeat after me, Everyone needs to learn about disability equality.

** Hiring the wheelchair user for the job doesn't mean you are doing society a favour, it means your company may have its best, most dedicated staff member yet!
** Making your website accessible to people who use screenreaders doesn't mean you have done your good deed for the day, it means that you could get hundreds of new customers who can't shop with your competitors because their sites make the screenreader cry.
** Don't move all the cleaning supplies out of the accessible loo because a wheelchair user needs to go in there. Move them out of there because it's a bathroom, not a store room.