No One Left Behind: Living with disability in the digital age

2 May, 2024
TrustCloud
Identity

TrustCloud, through its initiative No One Left Behind, combines technology and human connection to enable anyone to effortlessly complete digital processes. Our projects are based on innovative and personable design that breaks down any barriers and brings technology closer to people of any age, location, or digital skill level. Of course, this includes people with disabilities.

igital transactions have become an indispensable part of our lives, opening up a world of possibilities to access services and products online. However, this digital revolution has also highlighted the need for greater inclusion, especially for people with disabilities.

According to a study by the Spanish Adecco Foundation, 45% of people with disabilities encounter difficulties in their approach to technology, whether due to its complexity or lack of confidence. This rejection leads to digital isolation, which translates into the fact that, in practice, they continue to resort to traditional channels to handle financial transactions or job searches. Furthermore, the reality is that they end up needing the support of others, which diminishes their autonomy.

Accessibility: a clear goal for everyone to enjoy the digital economy

While there is a growing awareness of the need to adapt everyday life to the needs of people with disabilities, this same principle must be applied with equal emphasis to the digital environment. We cannot allow technological barriers to exclude a significant portion of the population from the benefits of the digital economy.

Achieving true digital inclusion requires a firm commitment from all involved actors:

Governments: They must implement public policies that promote the development of accessible technologies and training in their use.

Companies: It is essential for companies to adopt inclusive practices in the design and development of their digital platforms, ensuring they are accessible to people with all types of disabilities.

Civil society organizations: These organizations play a crucial role in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and promoting digital inclusion.

Society at large: It is necessary to foster a culture of awareness and respect for diversity, where people with disabilities are seen as integral parts of the digital society.

Creating an inclusive digital economy is not only a moral imperative but also an economic opportunity. By including people with disabilities in the digital world, a huge potential market is opened up, contributing to the development of a fairer and more equitable society.

How digital barriers affect each type of disability

Digital barriers do not affect all people with disabilities in the same way. The specific impact depends on the type and severity of the disability.

Visual impairment: People with visual impairments may encounter difficulties navigating websites and using applications if they are not designed with screen readers or visual assistance technologies in mind. The lack of image and video descriptions can hinder the understanding of multimedia content. Additionally, websites with high contrast or small text may be difficult to read for people with low vision.

Hearing impairment: People with hearing impairments cannot hear audio in videos or podcasts. Moreover, the lack of subtitles and transcriptions can hinder the understanding of multimedia content. Widespread attention methods such as automated phone systems and live chats may be inaccessible to people with deafness or hearing loss.

Motor disability: People with motor disabilities encounter various obstacles when interacting with the digital world. Difficulty using a mouse or keyboard limits them in navigating websites and using applications. Websites with interactive elements or requiring rapid movements are inaccessible to people with tremors or spasticity. Additionally, the lack of text alternatives for graphic elements hinders navigation for those with limited hand mobility

Cognitive disability: For people with cognitive disabilities, the complexity of information and website structure poses a significant challenge. Technical language or specialized jargon may be difficult to understand for people with learning difficulties. Likewise, websites with many ads or distracting elements are overwhelming for those with attention problems.

The individual experience of each person with a disability will be different, and the key to true digital inclusion is to remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing and fully participating in the digital world.

Including everyone from design to implementation of solutions for digital transactions

The No One Left Behind project is a holistic effort to include everyone in the digital world, from a close and adaptive approach. No One Left Behind embraces any reality, including, but not limited to, those of people with disabilities.

Our initiative turns needs into solutions, with the aim that anyone can complete processes on our platform in the most intuitive and efficient way possible. We focus on groups with special accessibility needs: the elderly, the underbanked, or those unaccustomed to digital interactions, with chats that translate conversations into different languages or interchangeable modes of assistance in video identification: agent-assisted or automated.

Additionally, we have expert video agents in sign language, facilitating banking onboarding for people with hearing disabilities. Our website is equipped with a comprehensive console that brings together various options to facilitate navigation for people with visual impairments, cognitive conditions of different nature, dyslexia, hearing problems, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), or epilepsy.

With very easy access, the menu displays resources properly indicated with very intuitive icons that allow changing the font size, activating easy reading options such as masks and pointers, highlighting links, changing text alignment or color saturation, pausing animations, or listening to the content displayed on the screen.

No One Left Behind seeks to imbue every department of TrustCloud and give meaning to our mission: to develop humanistic, comfortable, and close technology that empowers individuals and provides independence and peace of mind.