This July, we’re proud to celebrate Disability Pride Month and reaffirm our commitment to closing the disability divide through both technology and policy. This significant month coincides with the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law on July 26, 1990. The ADA is considered one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws for people with disabilities worldwide.
At Microsoft, we view disability as a strength and believe empowering people with disabilities is crucial for creating a more inclusive and accessible world. Our commitment to closing the disability divide – the gap between opportunities and outcomes for people with and without disabilities – is particularly focused on education, employment, and civic participation.
Enhancing Civic Participation
In this critical election year, over half of the world’s population is eligible to vote, and the disabled vote is particularly powerful. In the US, we’re partnering with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), AAPD’s REV UP initiative, and the Center for Civic Design to launch the Accessible Voting Guide. This comprehensive resource provides election officials, policymakers, advocates, and voters with guidance on making elections more accessible and inclusive. The guide includes detailed information on accessible voting methods across US states, such as early voting, in-person voting on Election Day, mail voting, and accessible vote-by-mail tools for people with disabilities. It also shares vital information on voting rights and advocacy for voters with disabilities.
Promoting Economic Equity
In the US, we continue to advocate for the elimination of Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which currently allows employers to pay workers with disabilities subminimum wages. Shockingly, over 100,000 workers with disabilities earn less than minimum wage, sometimes mere pennies per hour. At Microsoft, we believe in wage equity and pay our employees at least minimum wage. We also expect our suppliers to adhere to this standard. That’s why we’re endorsing the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act – a bipartisan bill aimed at ending subminimum wages. The bill would also provide grants and technical assistance to help employers transition to competitive, integrated employment for workers with disabilities.
Globally, various legislation and regulations are impacting the inclusion and protection of persons with disabilities. Notable examples include the European Accessibility Act (EAA), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and Web content and Mobile Applications regulations for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). At Microsoft, we view accessibility agreements as opportunities to make the world more inclusive, provide clarity, and accelerate accessibility initiatives.
Responsible AI and Accessibility
Microsoft’s Responsible AI framework encompasses fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness. Through this framework, we’re partnering with companies worldwide to provide accessible products and services. Recent collaborations with Global Symbols and Cboard demonstrate how AI can help address the disability divide through technology. Global Symbols is working on Augmentative and Alternative Communications (AAC) to help individuals with severe speech, language, and literacy challenges customize symbols for better communication. They’re currently developing a tool to automate symbol production using Stable Diffusion models and DALL-E 3 on Azure OpenAI, which could bring more culturally relevant AAC experiences to underrepresented communities globally.
Our partnership with Cboard involves developing a new multi-platform application leveraging Azure OpenAI and built in Azure AI Studio. This tool assists people using AAC in generating quick, accurate responses during conversations, providing real-time suggestions to enhance communication – particularly for those facing verbal communication or conversational cue processing challenges.
As we celebrate the ADA anniversary and Disability Pride Month, we’re reminded of the progress made since 1990. We’re grateful to our partners in the disability movement for their collaboration and engagement in critical conversations. This month and every month, we celebrate the talent, ingenuity, and commitment of the global disability community in accelerating accessibility.
For more information on Accessibility at Microsoft, you can reach out to the Disability Answer Desk or try our new Bing AI-powered Ask Microsoft Accessibility tool. To learn more about disability inclusion and creating a more inclusive workplace, check out the ‘Strengthening Teams: Foster Disability Inclusion’ learning path on LinkedIn Learning – available for free until August 22, 2024.
