Image description: A picture of two hands seeming to be typing on a laptop’s keyboard. The laptop has a window opened, of what seems to be a page of a social media post.
This post is sponsored by Fable.
“Student ID, phone, laptop… I think that’s everything,” I mentally list before I leave for my first class of the day. The internet is a fundamental part of my everyday life, enabling me to take notes in class, communicate with my loved ones, and find directions for just about anywhere. I am not alone in my overreliance on the internet—according to an Adjust article, over 5.19 billion people use mobile phones around the world, and an average smartphone owner uses 10 apps per day. However, according to a Make-Sense article, an estimated 1.3 billion web users have disabilities that prevent them from fully accessing web-based content. No one should struggle to use the internet, especially when it’s designed to make life easier for people, which is why digital accessibility is so important.
A Perkins article defines digital accessibility as “how usable a website, app or other digital experience is by all possible users, regardless of their ability or disability.” Many disabilities—including those that are visual, auditory, or physical—might complicate people’s ability to easily access digital content. For example, websites and apps that are largely sight-based exclude those with vision impairments, videos or sound-based notifications exclude those with hearing loss, and websites and apps that require a lot of gestures or swipes to navigate exclude those with motor disabilities. In a society that’s becoming increasingly digitally operated, excluding digital access for those with disabilities is undeniably discrimination. In addition, when companies make digital accessibility a priority, they demonstrate their commitment to serving all users, reach a larger customer base in terms of the disabled population, and maintain ADA and Section 508 compliance. In other words, companies that accommodate those with disabilities reap benefits in return.
True digital accessibility can only be achieved by accommodating a range of disabilities. For example, to support those who are visually impaired, websites and apps should include ample color contrast, alt text descriptions to images, built-in text to speech options, descriptive tabs, and text that can be read by accessibility software such as screen readers. To support those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, websites and apps that have audio elements should include subtitles and closed captioning. To support those with motor disabilities, websites and apps should be designed to support simple navigation and access to all content with the use of a keyboard or alternative devices such as a switch or a mouth stick. That said, because every user with a disability has different access needs, the only way to meet the needs of a variety of users is to add as many customization possibilities as possible.
So many people with disabilities—especially those who use assistive technology such as screen readers and alternative keyboards—have time and time again come across websites and apps that weren’t accessible and desperately wished they could make them so. Fable, a platform that major companies like Walmart, Shopify, and Slack work with to test their websites and apps with people with disabilities, understands the frustration that arises from a lack of digital accessibility. Fable has two missions: to assist companies in developing platforms with better digital accessibility and to further representation for people with disabilities to in the tech sector. That’s why they recruit accessibility testers who use assistive technology to test the platforms of companies and offer feedback. Fable aims to reduce digital inaccessibility, one company at a time.
Fable is currently recruiting more accessibility testers. No resume or cover letter is needed to apply, and their only requirement is that applicants must already use assistive technology. Accessibility testers are offered paid training and compensated well for the work that they do. This job offers remote work, hourly wages with opportunities to increase pay, learning and skill-building opportunities, a friendly community of accessibility testors. It is especially suitable for those who want a flexible schedule and while it is not full-time employment, it is an excellent pathway into that. This job allows people with disabilities to make direct change in advancing digital accessibility.
Digital accessibility is important both for disabled people to be more included in a largely digitally operated society and for platforms to expand their consumer base. By enabling platforms to test their products with accessibility testors who are actually disabled and use assistive technology, Fable is paving the way towards a more digitally accessible future. Most importantly, however, Fable allows assistive technology users who often feel hopelessly surrounded by inaccessible platforms to finally have a say.
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