Lenovo’s ‘Diversity by Design’ and Global Accessibility Awareness Day

There is a constant stream of article content and belief items talking about how the tech market could and really should evidently do the job tougher at addressing the necessities of exclusive wants people today and teams.

But even though the industry’s in general history on accessibility could be improved, some unique suppliers, these kinds of as Lenovo, have created accessibility a central concern organizationally and in their company and improvement processes. Let’s take into consideration the announcements Lenovo built to emphasize International Accessibility Consciousness Working day (GAAD).

Also see: Rethinking Tech Design With an Accessibility-Initially Approach 

GAAD and the Tech Sector

So what is GAAD? At first, influenced by a web site posted in 2011 by website developer Joe Devon, GAAD aims to maximize recognition and spark improvements that make technological know-how items and companies far more accessible and beneficial to the estimated 1 billion individuals all over the world who battle with disabilities, such as visible, audial, motor and cognitive impairments. GAAD supporters advocate subsequent the Website Material Accessibility Recommendations (WCAG) that the Around the world Net Consortium (W3C) to start with released in 1997.

With almost a quarter century of arranging, hard work and funding guiding it, you would believe that WCAG (now WCAG 2.) has made a good deal of development, ideal? Not really.

In point, a 2020 WebAIM study analyzed a person million household webpages for accessibility difficulties and uncovered that 98.1 percent of household web pages contained at least a person WCAG 2. failure (top to sizeable faults). Moreover, the million house web pages analyzed averaged 60.9 mistakes every single, such as missing and lower contrast textual content and vacant backlinks and buttons.

For unimpaired staff and people, these glitches are generally insignificant inconveniences. Even so, such mistakes can generate major impediments for a multitude of disabled people today. In convert, as persons, organizations, international locations and locations have turned a lot more and a lot more towards employing digital services and tools in schooling, workplaces, govt and business procedures and recreation. This indicates that inaccessible systems are hindering hundreds of hundreds of thousands of disabled individuals from entirely residing, finding out and doing work.

In essence, accessibility is vitally essential to people today and companies all over the world.

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Lenovo’s Variety by Design and GAAD 2022

What has Lenovo been doing to make its answers and expert services extra accessible? In 2020, the enterprise produced a new Products Variety Office (PDO) created to make sure that Lenovo products ended up formulated with “Diversity by Design” – that is, in line with diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) aims.

To realize this, numerous teams perform in product or service organizing and execution phases, and the PDO also consults with a broad array of varied end users to validate layouts and deliver opinions. Lastly, Lenovo encourages partnerships with staff resource groups and diversity companions like its accessibility and inclusion advisor, Haben Girma (the very first deaf/blind particular person to graduate from Harvard Regulation Faculty).

Individuals and other efforts led to announcements coinciding with GAAD 2021. This year’s GAAD 2022 influenced new Lenovo posts and bulletins, which include:

• A commentary by Ada Lopez, manager and method director for Lenovo PDO that capabilities her thoughts on vetting 38 firm merchandise for accessibility, and the start of a new “Accessibility Consultation” system and type. Lopez shares some examples of the rewards the corporation has shipped, as effectively her thoughts on the potential of Lenovo PDO.
• A put up by Thorsten Stremlau, CTO and executive director of Lenovo’s Commercial Item Portfolio about a new collaboration between the corporation and Dr. Peter Scott-Morgan for Lenovo’s Form Metropolitan areas Marketing campaign– an initiative shedding gentle on the have to have for kindness in all communities. Identified with motor neuron disorder (MND) – also recognized as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – in 2017, Dr. Scott-Morgan offered insights to Lenovo and its associates on establishing accessibility methods to make improved encounters for individuals with disabilities. Stremlau also discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic has greater Lenovo’s aim on psychological wellness and assisting those troubled by panic, PTSD and other pandemic-associated circumstances.
• An posting discovering a partnership involving Lenovo Turkey and BlindLook to turn out to be the to start with personal computer brand name in Turkey to cater to individuals who are visually impaired. As a consequence of the partnership, all Lenovo notebooks and desktops will be suitable with audio simulation engineering made to empower bigger entry for buyers. Individuals involve 16 simulations in Lenovo Thinkpad Carbon Models that are created to support impaired people study widespread duties, such as how to surf the world-wide-web, how to use place of work apps and insights on making use of the keyboard.

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Much more Successful Lives

The posts and bulletins celebrating GAAD 2022 paint a shiny image of Lenovo PDO and the company’s endeavours to develop available professional products and expert services although continuing to go after its variety, equity and inclusion objectives.

The broad concentrate of the company’s DE&I endeavours demonstrates its ambitions in this place, as perfectly as the extent of Lenovo’s worldwide small business. With supporting functions in above 60 countries and sales in close to 180 international locations, the company’s literal international arrive at suggests that the advantages of Lenovo PDO and its technological innovation accessibility technique can perhaps reach most of the 1 billion people struggling with disabilities and assistance them take pleasure in fuller, more successful lives.

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