Global Accessibility Awareness Day: Accessibility as a Leadership Practice

For 15 years, Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) has been observed on the third Thursday of May. It was created to focus attention on digital accessibility—the ability for people with disabilities to fully use websites, software, mobile applications, and digital tools. While GAAD is a single day, its purpose is much larger: to prompt ongoing awareness and meaningful action.

Many leaders share the misconception that digital accessibility is expensive and difficult to implement. Fortunately, accessible technology is far more available and easier to use than in the past. GAAD is a day to recognize leaders’ ability—and responsibility—to model accessibility best practices, regardless of their technical expertise.

What Is Digital Accessibility?

Digital accessibility means designing and building technology so it works for everyone, including people with disabilities. In practice, this includes:

• Offering captions for videos, which make content accessible to Deaf viewers,
• Designing websites to be compatible with screen readers, making them accessible to people who are blind or have low vision; and
• Writing clear, predictable content, which helps support people with neurological disabilities.

Since 1999, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have set the standard for designing digital content so everyone can use it, including people with disabilities. The guidelines have been updated several times to the current version, WCAG 2.0.

Accessibility used to be a developer-only discipline, but that’s no longer true. Many mainstream platforms now include accessibility features by default. Users no longer need to ask for specialized software, and organizations don’t need custom budgets just to meet basic accessibility needs. Now leaders may run document accessibility checks, caption videos, and test accessibility with keyboards or screen readers in minutes. Some examples of standard features that come ready to use in popular software and platforms include:

• Live captions in Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet;
• Screen readers built into Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android;
• Operating‑system‑level voice control and dictation; and
• Built‑in accessibility checkers in Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.

Additionally, AI has accelerated accessibility in so many ways, including:

• Automatic captions and transcripts,
• Speech‑to‑text for meetings and calls,
• Image descriptions (alt text),
• Text simplification and summarization, and
• Language translation.

GAAD and Proactive Action for Leaders

Even with technology advancements, digital accessibility remains a challenge. Leaders should be mindful that accessibility often goes unnoticed until it fails. Many digital barriers are invisible to those who don’t encounter them personally.

GAAD is an opportunity to take stock of your organization’s digital accessibility. Look beyond your public-facing website; review internal HR systems, collaboration tools, training platforms, digital documents, data dashboards, and virtual meetings. Is your organization optimizing accessibility tools that already exist? Are you communicating to employees and customers that accessibility features exist and providing support for their use of said features? GAAD is an opportunity for leaders to move accessibility from concept to practice.

Effective actions do not need to be complex or expensive. For example, you can:

• Create a checklist of your current state of digital accessibility tools, see sample WCAG 2 version.
• Host a short training or lunch‑and‑learn, introducing accessibility basics and common barriers.
• Promote empathy by encouraging leaders to try navigating key systems using only a keyboard, or with captions turned off, to experience constraints firsthand.
• Fix one thing: Identify and address a specific accessibility issue—such as adding captions to videos or updating document templates.
• Start requesting a Voluntary Product Accessibility (VPAT) Template from vendors. A VPAT is a standardized accessibility disclosure that helps organizations understand how accessible a digital product is before they buy or deploy it.

A Day That Starts a Habit

At Archbright, accessibility is not just about complying with disability and civil rights laws; it reflects our organizational values of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership (IDEAL). Digital accessibility for all of our employees and members sends a clear message that inclusion is not aspirational; it is part of Archbright’s operations and business strategy. Leaders who acknowledge GAAD to their teams and affirm its importance are leading visibly. When leaders treat accessibility as a standard part of how work gets done, not a special initiative, it becomes sustainable.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day reminds us that small, intentional changes can make a meaningful difference. As a leader, take the opportunity to acknowledge GAAD and use the day to conduct a review of your organization’s accessibility tools and take a moment to remind your team about their existence. Taking this small step demonstrates that you are a leader for all.