Jun 17, 2020
Global Technology Leaders Address Building an Accessible Workplace In the Midst of COVID-19 and Beyond
New York (June 17, 2020) – The National Organization on Disability (NOD) today hosted a webcast for its Corporate Leadership Council members entitled “Building Tomorrow’s Accessible Workplaces”. The webcast provided timely information to more than 500 participants about how accessible technology can create a more diverse and inclusive workplace for employees and customers.
“The pandemic has led to more people working from home than ever before,” said NOD President Carol Glazer. “Companies that use technology to rethink their business operations for the future by fast-tracking digital transformation will be the ones ahead of their competition. Those individuals working with disabilities are the best assets within companies to help them get ahead of the curve.”
Led by an esteemed group of industry experts, the discussion focused on what makes a technologically-advanced, forward-thinking company and addressed accessibility in all its forms. From understanding the difference between providing accommodations for individual employees and ensuring accessibility for a range of users’ needs, to getting buy-in from cross-functional teams including brand marketing, training & development, information security, and talent acquisition, participants learned how to integrate cutting-edge and accessible technology across their organizations.
Welcome remarks were given by Maynard Jenkins, Vice President of HR Support Functions, Sutter Health and Suzanne Montgomery, Vice President, Compliance & Chief Accessibility Officer, AT&T, delivered the keynote address.
The webcast, moderated by Sheri Byrne-Haber, Head of Accessibility at VMware featured the following global technology leaders:
- Jennison Asuncion, Head of Accessibility, LinkedIn
- Simon Dermer, Co-Founder and CEO, eSSENTIAL Accessibility
- Carol Glazer, President, National Organization on Disability
- Christopher Patnoe, Head of Accessibility Programs, Google
- Jeremy Zilar, former Director, Digital.gov
As we approach the 30th anniversary of the American Disabilities Act on July 26th, NOD and its 50+ Corporate Leadership Council members are ramping up efforts, including holding online gatherings like this webcast, to continue making strides towards disability inclusion in every workplace.