accessibility

the word ABIDE in black text over two white hearts on a rainbow gradient background

ABIDE: Accessibility, Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
July 19, 2024June 13, 2025

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series ABIDE

I’ve had so many great conversations since that SHRM announcement! Equity, while sometimes misunderstood, is such a critical part of the work that DEI professionals set out to do.

SHRM (the Society for Human Resource Management) recently announced the “strategic decision” to rebrand DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) as Inclusion & Diversity (I&D), effective immediately.
Read more: Not Without Equity

I think, instead of removing letters from the acronyms we use to describe our work, we should be adding letters. Let’s consider ABIDE.

In Summary

ABIDE stands for Accessibility, Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity. It's a way to make sure everyone has equal chances and feels welcome. If any part of ABIDE is missing, it can cause problems. People can feel left out of fair opportunities. There are other similar acronyms, but what really matters is making things fair and inclusive for everyone.

the words "special text" in various Unicode fonts

In Summary

Using "fancy fonts" from online generators might seem cool for social media, but they cause problems. These special fonts are actually made of different computer characters that can be hard for people with disabilities, like those using screen readers, to understand. They also make it harder for your content to show up in online searches and can even be linked to spam. It's much better to use regular fonts so everyone can easily read and find your content.

illustrated disabled people in brightly-colored clothing

Published: Are You Missing the D in DEI?

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
June 10, 2024May 26, 2025

I had an article published in the recent Workplace in Action® People Excellence magazine. My newest piece, “Are You Missing the ‘D’ in DEI?,” explores how diversity & inclusion initiatives may be missing the mark if they aren’t including disability.

My full article is shared below (along with a page for the #A11yBook!), but I hope you’ll check out the full magazine here as well. I’m still reading some of the great articles contributed by my colleagues. It’s a robust issue with a variety of perspectives!

In Summary

Many companies talk about being fair and including everyone. They can often forget about people with disabilities. When we leave out people with disabilities, it means those people feel unwelcome. Companies can miss out on great ideas and talented workers. To truly include everyone, businesses need to make sure events and online tools can be used by people with disabilities. Disabled voices should be heard in all discussions about fairness and inclusion.

a group of 3 people in a circle of arrows icon in white on a blue background

Making Work Accessible: Retention

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 31, 2024May 30, 2025

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

Welcome to this series of posts on Making Work Accessible! I’m so excited to share this deeper dive into accessibility at work, based on some content from a recent webinar and presentation. We’re going to explore the phases of the employee life cycle: Attraction, Recruitment, Onboarding, Development, and Retention. I’ll share some accessibility and inclusion best practices in each of these areas, and also include a related benefit of disability inclusion.

In HR, “retention” refers to the ability of an organization to keep its current employees and prevent employee turnover. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

"Retention" means keeping people from leaving their jobs. To keep employees with disabilities, businesses should follow these best practices. When companies do this, employees feel more valued and tend to stay with the company longer, which benefits everyone.

an open book with a graduation cap in a light bulb icon in black on a green background

Making Work Accessible: Development

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 30, 2024May 30, 2025

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

In HR, “development” refers to training employees, providing coaching and feedback, and preparing them for future roles in the organization. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

"Development" in a job means training and helping employees learn new skills. For people with disabilities, this means making sure everyone can access all resources. Companies that do this often make more money and can even get special perks.

a person with arrows to workflows icon in black on a yellow background

Making Work Accessible: Onboarding

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 29, 2024May 28, 2025

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

In HR, “onboarding” refers to the process of introducing a new employee to an organization and helping them adjust to their new role. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

When a new person starts a job, "onboarding" is how the company helps them get settled. For employees with disabilities, making this process easy and fair is key. Doing the things in this article makes the company look better to customers and shows they care about fairness.

a person with arrows icon in black on an orange background

Making Work Accessible: Recruitment

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 28, 2024May 26, 2025

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

In HR, “recruitment” refers to the process of screening resumes, interviewing, and hiring within an organization. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

Hiring people with disabilities brings in fresh ideas. It can help companies solve problems in new ways. By changing how they recruit and interview, businesses can find talented individuals with different ways of thinking. This can spark creativity and new solutions.

a magnet icon in white on a pink background

Making Work Accessible: Attraction

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 27, 2024May 25, 2025

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

In HR, “attraction” refers to the process of enticing qualified candidates to apply for job openings within an organization. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

It's smart for businesses to hire people with disabilities because it creates a stronger talent pool. To do this, companies should follow some best practices for attracting employees with disabilities. By doing these things, businesses can find more skilled workers they might have missed before.

cover of The Inclusive Speaker: How to Truly Connect With All of Your Audience Without Leaving Anyone Behind by Denis Boudreau

Review: The Inclusive Speaker

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 25, 2024May 26, 2025

The Inclusive Speaker by Denis Boudreau has been on my radar for a bit, and I got to finally finish up reading on my flight back from New Orleans last weekend.

I have to start by saying, I really wanted to be able to recommend this book. I went in with the highest of hopes, imagining myself sharing this book with my speaker’s community and creating a wave of more disability-inclusive speakers. Since I speak on accessibility and disability inclusion, other speakers often ask me what they can do better to reach these audience members. This book has some good wisdom, but is in other places… problematic.

In Summary

This review of "The Inclusive Speaker" points out some good parts and some problems. The reviewer really wanted to like the book, especially since they teach others about being inclusive speakers. The main issue is that the book often talks about "learning styles," which research has shown is a myth. However, the book does have helpful parts, especially the checklists in Part 3. These checklists give practical advice on how to make presentations more inclusive for people with different disabilities.

blue icon of emoji - 3 faces and a question mark

Writing Bonus! Accessible Emoji Use

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
April 27, 2024May 25, 2025

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Writing for Accessibility

I was done with my planned series on Writing for Accessibility… or so I thought! We covered writing ALT text, writing for readability, and writing captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions. I wanted to add one more “writing” topic to the series: accessible emoji use!

In Summary

This article shares how to use emojis in an accessible way. Key tips include not replacing words with emojis, avoiding them as bullet points, and placing them at the end of sentences. It's also important to check emoji descriptions, and to use them in moderation.