Global Accessibility Awareness Day: A Conversation With Tanner Gers of UsableNet

In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2021, TTC recently sat down with Tanner Gers, Head of Partnerships at UsableNet, to hear his perspective on what digital accessibility really means and his lived experience as a person with disability. TTC is a proud partner of UsableNet, together providing a full offering of accessibility services to easily enable organizations to create accessible digital environments.

When it comes to digital projects and initiatives, Gers discussed the importance of decision makers and organizations to take accessibility seriously and embed accessibility into design, development, and testing. Simply asking: “How have we ensured that everyone has equal access to what we’re building?”, is necessary in creating inclusive digital experiences.

Additionally, Gers emphasized the need to include people with disabilities into testing processes. Automated testing tools, while purposeful in their own way, often do not level the playing field in regard to digital accessibility. According to Gers, these tools only cover a small portion of what makes a mobile application or website accessible to a person with disability. By including a person with disability into the testing process, organizations will get a more robust understanding and viewpoint of how their digital presence can be truly accessible.

To learn more about Tanner’s insights, watch the interview below: