The power of AI to increase access to good jobs for all
Authored by: Jessica Rafuse, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Policy
As we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), we reflect on the role of partnership in fostering an inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to choose meaningful work. This year’s NDEAM theme, “Access to Good Jobs for All”, means preparing workplaces to be more accessible and inclusive for disabled talent. LinkedIn’s Economic Graph Research Institute recently published their Disability Status and Work trends report, showing that people with disabilities are less likely to be currently working or in leadership positions compared to people without disabilities, though these gaps tend to be smaller for younger generations of workers compared with older generations. Technology, including AI and generative AI, holds transformative power to create more equitable opportunities for people with disabilities.
Together with our partners and customers, we are working to increase access to workplaces across three Horizons:
- Adopting technology, policies, and practices with disabled talent;
- Building organizational capability to create enterprise-wide accessible platforms and experiences; and
- Innovating cloud and AI solutions to reach even more people.
Adopting technology, policies, and practices with disabled talent
Business Case for Accessible Transportation. For 30% of US employees, access to employment includes travel as a part of their work. Accessible airline travel is good business. It connects disabled employees to a global economic workforce, bolsters productivity, and increases efficiency. This month, we worked with The Society for Human Resources Management Foundation (SHRM Foundation) to publish a new report on accessible air travel, A World of Work that Works for All: Accessible Airline Travel for People with Disabilities. The report provides insights into the business case for air travel and recommendations for how organizations can create more inclusive travel policies.
Accessible formats with AI. The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), United Kingdom, developed an AI-based solution to streamline and scale its accessible document service to convert complex documents into accessible formats such as braille, large print, and audio. Azure AI and Azure Neural Voice enhance these formats with natural-sounding, conversational audio for a more engaging and accessible experience. “It’s a fundamental right to get information in a format you can access,” says Aidan Forman, Director of Technology and Digital Transformation at RNIB. “Accessible information is genuinely life-changing for blind and partially sighted people to fully participate in society.”
Skilling to accelerate accessibility. The Assistive Technology Experience Centre by Access Tech Innovation in Lagos, Nigeria provides information, demos, and consultations on assistive technologies. The center has welcomed over 1000 visitors and partnered with local and international organizations to expand its reach. An AI for Accessibility grantee, the center has extended e-learning to more than 130 blind or low vision individuals in multiple countries.
Building organizational capability to create enterprise-wide accessible platforms and experiences
Disabled developers are leading the way in creating more accessible products, websites, and services to advance employment opportunities. Designed by developers with disabilities, Hey Code in Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a speech-to-text feature of the VS Code Speech extensions that supports coding through voice input, enhancing productivity and inclusion.
Examples of features:
- Voice Commands: Initiate a session with GitHub Copilot Chat by saying “Hey Code”, reducing the need for keyboard and mouse interactions.
- Multiple Activation Options: Start voice sessions from various contacts within VS code, such as the Chat view, Quick Chat control, or inline chat in the editor.
- Visual Cues and Notifications: facilitate live coding sessions that incorporate captioned communication tools for a more inclusive collaborative environment.
- Enhanced Accessibility Features: VS Code also includes other accessibility features like screen reader support, zoom and magnification, high contrast themes, and customizable keyboard shortcuts. These features make the coding environment more inclusive for developers with vision, hearing, or cognitive disabilities.
The commitment to accessibility also extends beyond our products, as we actively engage with global partners and policymakers to support the standards and regulations that form critical components of the accessibility ecosystem.
Enterprise-wide conformance. Building capability in an organization includes awareness of regulations impacting people with disabilities. Last month, Disability:IN convened partners in Dublin, Ireland, sharing their guide, Disability Inclusion in the EU: A Legal Analysis to Guide Corporate Responsibilities Under New EU Disability Inclusive Legislation. We join our customers, partners, and the disability community in working to meet requirements within Europe and around the globe, such as Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and European Accessibility Act (EAA) that will raise the bar of accessibility and disability inclusion and employment.
Innovating cloud and AI solutions to reach even more people
The NDEAM theme, “Access to Good Jobs for All”, challenges us to innovate around the globe to increase economic opportunity for people with disabilities. The 3D Lab at Radboud University Medical Center partnered with Masanga Teaching Hospital in Sierra Leone to increase access to prosthetic devices for people with limb difference in lower-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Building on Azure AI services, the team developed an AI algorithm to simplify prosthetic socket creation and software for patient management. Now, the local team in Sierra Leone independently produces the prosthetics.
Horizon Next: Partnerships that evolve the systems underlying employment opportunities
Active participation in civic life produces stronger, more resilient, and healthier communities. Supporting accessibility in our democracy is key to our employees, customers, and partners. Microsoft Democracy Forward, Accessibility, RevUp (AAPD), and the Center for Civic Design have recently updated AccessibleVoting.net. This plain language guide helps voters understand accessible voting options in every state ahead of the 2024 General Election.
Reflecting back on this year’s NDEAM, we recognize there is more than one way to work, and that there is still more to be done to increase access to good jobs for all. It will require collaboration and partnership to adopt, build, and innovate a more accessible and inclusive society. Together, accessibly designed and built technology can improve employment opportunities for disabled talent globally.
If you have questions or feedback on Accessibility at Microsoft, let us know at the Disability Answer Desk or try out the new Bing AI-powered Ask Microsoft Accessibility tool.