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Digital Discrimination
Posted by: Dissol on Feb 18, 2010
This is a follow on from the Source's post & comments. In it he explains his frustration with trying to book accommodation online for his family & friends. I can empathise; as I, like many others, face similar frustrations when trying to book anything online.
It is important to remember that we have an excellent piece of legislation, the Equality Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate against any person due to race, gender, disability, amongst other things.
Now take the simple act of booking something (could be accommodation, tickets, flights, whatever) online. It is a simple activity which we all do from time to time. Often there is no place on the website to request accessible accommodation, or seats or whatever. This means immediately that there is discrimination; we must call. Even if there is a box to tick, often (say in the case of flights) we must make an additional phone call after making the booking.
Now the next problem; accessibility is poorly understood by the general population. I have been told numerous times that there would be no issue relating to accessibility...only to turn up to find entrance steps, small bathrooms, lack of hand controls, no grab rails. Several times I have arrived at hotels in the evening, after a busy day of meetings, to find I cannot even get into the hotel, never mind my room, leading to a frantic search for accessible accommodation and lengthy discussions as I try to get the hotel to cover the extra costs incurred due to their false information.
Recently I took number 2 son to the Top Gear show (my claim to fame is that Jeremy Clarkson's mother has put her (cold) hand on my bare buttock outside a church in Yorkshire). What should have been a simple booking procedure became a protracted affair. Wheelchair bookings could not be taken by computicket online; so I phoned. But the booking could not be made even when I phoned, as wheelchair bookings can only be taken during normal office hours, and I had phoned on a weekend...even though the lines are open all weekend. When we looked at the seating plan, there was wheelchair seating available, but when I phoned on Monday morning I was initially told that the wheelchair seating was fully booked… It was only after protracted discussions that I managed to get a ticket for me & my son (strangely, there was plenty of space for the performance?). My son's friend, who was going to join us had to be left behind, as there is only an allowance for one person to accompany the wheelchair user.
I have learnt, the hard way, not to trust any information that I am given. People will claim that their premises are accessible, but when I arrive, there are often issues. Take MyDL offices as an example (not to embarrass them...I challenge the rest of you to do the same in your own place of work). When I decided to call in to see Kermit & Mona Lisa, I was informed that their offices were accessible; they are not. There is a step into the building. It was not insurmountable for me, at the time (although given the deterioration of my shoulders, it may be a problem now), but this would be a problem for many people with disabilities.
Of course, there is a selfish side to this. People may argue that the cost of making everywhere accessible is too onerous, especially for small businesses. There are 3 counter arguments to this position:
- Moral. We have a moral obligation to treat others fairly. That person with the disability could be you tomorrow, or your partner, or children the next day. 86% of all people with disabilities gain their disability during their working lives.
- Legal. As I pointed out we have great legislation in this country. To turn me away because of my disability, is covered by the same law, and is viewed in the same way as turning OS away on account of his skin colour…
- Business. It actually makes sense to ensure that your premises are accessible - greater pool of potential customers, or staff...which also has an implication when it comes to staff retention. Just stop a minute and imagine that you are involved in an accident as you travel home today, and you become disabled. (Given our roads, and the over zealous blue light convoys, it maybe is not too hard to do!!). So you may be a wheelchair user or perhaps blind...could you still come to work?? Is the use of your legs, or eyes, or whatever absolutely essential to your job?
So we have digital discrimination. For me, it is because I often cannot book services online like many others can. Then there are other issues; my old business partner is blind; he cannot even find his way around many of the websites, as they do not conform to International Internet standards, and cause problems for screen readers. Using MyDL as an example again, he does not visit MyDL, as it does not work too well with his screen reader.
Quite often, people with disabilities rely more on the internet than non-disabled (due to inaccessible public transport, and inaccessible environments), so it is a double shame that we have to cope with additional digital discrimination here.
So this sounds like a whinging, negative post. And I am sure that there may be some (who have made it this far) who are wondering what is the point of this rant? Well here comes the positive bit. Here is the suggestion of what each one of us can do to begin to change this situation. Raise the issue...bring inaccessibility to the attention of those people who can make changes (whether it be to make the website more accessible, or physical changes to your building). Take those 3 reasons above and give them to the decision makers. Of you are a decision maker yourself then take them on board, and make the changes… When you do go to accommodation that is inaccessible, raise the issue with the management there...make them aware, ask them how they would cope if you became disabled...or a member of your family became disabled. This is a fight similar to the battle waged against racial apartheid.
Mandela called his journey a Long Walk to Freedom. For many of us we are still rolling, on a much longer journey, to our own Freedom. |
