Accessibility is not a one-man band!
We've all seen them, the job openings with roles and responsibilities for accessibility professionals that aim to fill too many things. They're often meant to perform the tasks of about 3–4 people and, even more important, fill the role of as many specialisations.
I came across a one-man band the other day that made me fell similar to seeing these roles in organisations.
Sure, it sounds sort of OK, I guess. But, to me, it just feels like they’re trying to do too many things and the quality suffers from it. Not only that, but it also feels like there's something missing.
I, personally, prefer either a simpler version, i.e. a guitarist, or multiple people playing together, each doing their part, creating a well-rounded performance.
Web accessibility is not the responsibility of a single person or department. It's a shared responsibility that requires the involvement of everyone, from designers and developers to content creators and end users. But also legal, procurement and your leadership team. Collaboration ensures that everyone plays their part in making the web accessible.
When we collaborate, we bring together different perspectives. People with different skills, experiences, and backgrounds can provide valuable insights that can help identify and address accessibility issues that might otherwise be overlooked.
It's great if you want an accessibility expert to guide you on all those things, point people in the right directions, help find solutions. But don't expect one person to manage, solve and cover it all.
You won't find that person, or they won't deliver what you expect.
Besides, who wants to up all their eggs in one basket? What if this person decides to move on, maybe because you're asking too much or things don't appear to be moving? Now you're back at square one…
Key to making things accessibility and inclusive is collaborative problem-solving.
#accessibility #inclusion #collaboration #together
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, People & International Platform at Global Affairs Canada / Affaires mondiales Canada
1moAwesome program provided by an awesome team of employees !