July 26th, 2024 marked the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a day that is observed annually as National Disability Independence Day. The ADA prohibits discrimination and ensures that those with disabilities have equal rights, access, and opportunities as everyone else. Disabilities, both visible and invisible, encompass a wide spectrum: from physical disabilities, to cognitive and neurological diversities, to mental health conditions, and chronic illnesses.
Although the ADA is applicable in employment, transportation, communications, public accommodations, and access to state and local governments’ services, tech is still playing catch up.
Approximately 10.7% of women in STEM are disabled, according to the 2019 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Federal Workforce Report. Of those, 1.2% live with a targeted disability that could potentially have a profound, limiting impact on employment prospects.
This Disability Pride Month, NCWIT is honored to celebrate and amplify individuals, organizations, and initiatives that are building equity, uplifting disabled people, and creating inclusive cultures in tech. Below, find resources and insights from NCWIT and members of our broader network about how to support disability justice this July and beyond:
NCWIT’s third edition of re:think — a thought leadership magazine that advocates for a more diverse, equal, and inclusive technology industry — focuses on disability and accessibility.
“As technologists it is incumbent upon us to think differently about how we deliver services and ensure that accessibility is part of the design process. It’s not only the mark of good technology; it’s simply the right thing to do.”
Published in 2023, the volume contains timely information on creating inclusive mindsets and cultures across both visible and invisible identities within work environments as well as pedagogical practices. Learn from change-making contributors in our network, including:
Then, explore how to be a better advocate and ally for the disability community with:
For more, access all editions of #rethink magazine in the NCWIT Media Hub: ncwit.org/media.
Naba Rizvi is: A 2020 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Collegiate Award Winner, founder of the women’s chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery, an NCWIT Affinity Alliance Member, at the University of Toledo in 2017, and current PhD student at the University of California-San Diego — an NCWIT Higher Ed Alliance member institution. She works to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) more inclusive for autistic and neurodiverse users.
As a change-leader and avid promoter of reframing neurodiverse abilities as differences and not deficits, she’s contributed to seven peer-reviewed publications and has been invited to speak at leading technology conferences, including: The ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), and the Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) — where several NCWIT researchers and leaders within the NCWIT Higher Ed Alliance present annually.
Due to her work extensive work in disability inclusion and human-AI alignment, Naba was recognized by the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) – an NCWIT K-12 Alliance member organization – as a #CShero for her technical contributions in ethical and accessible AI from 2022-2023. In addition, she was also honored by Vice President Kamala Harris for her contributions to make #CSed accessible for all learners.
“This recognition means a lot to me as I am a trailblazer in my family and community in a lot of ways,” Rizvi told UC San Diego Today. “When my mama heard the Vice President sent me a letter, she cried because she knows how far I've come and all the obstacles I’ve had to overcome to get here."
Check out Naba’s work to learn more about neurodiversity and neuro-inclusive AI:
She was a 2024 NCWIT Summit speaker, is a Computer Science Professor at the University of Washington Information School – an NCWIT Higher Ed Alliance member institution, and has also authored multiple digitally accessible books. This year, Amy Ko, PhD, launched another must-read text: “Teaching Accessible Computing.”
“For computing to work for everyone, it must first be accessible to everyone. Alas, it is not: people with disabilities in mobility, vision, hearing, learning, attention, and more regularly face software that is hard or impossible for them to use” says Dr. Ko.
Inaccessible tech is a full-circle issue: Students are rarely taught about accessibility which hinders their ability to spot and fix issues and in turn limits the capacity of software engineers in tech organizations to design accessible technologies from inception.
“Teaching Accessible Computing” is addressing this issue by providing actionable foundations and methods for integrating accessibility topics where it’s most crucial from the start — in computer science classrooms. This living document aims to empower educators to teach accessibility topics comfortably and each chapter includes a time estimate for ease in applying strategies.
Collaborated on and edited by Postdoctoral Scholar Alannah Oleson, Computer Science Professor Dr. Amy J. Ko, and Professor Emeritus Richard Ladner, you can view each chapter online, save the book as a PDF, or download it and print copies at: bookish.press/tac.
Plus, watch her #NCWITSummit keynote on Liberatory Futures for Computing Literacy on demand in the NCWIT Media Hub.
Disability:IN is creating inclusive and accessible businesses where people with disabilities participate fully and meaningfully.
Formerly the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN), Disability:IN stemmed from the ADA but evolved to propel business disability inclusion, both within corporate America and internationally. It has since become the leading non-profit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide.
Explore their offerings and commit to expanding digital accessibility to create a world where people with disabilities can achieve their full potential:
Enjoyed learning about these individuals and organizations? Head to our social media for spotlight posts about role models and leaders at the intersection of disability + tech!
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