So my organisation is — slowly — starting to awake to the realisation that what I have been banging on about for a decade is actually a big deal.
It’s true that for most of that decade, I had no actual clout to affect change because I was in the wrong team. As far as anyone was concerned, I was just the tech nerd who made things work.
Anything beyond that was deemed opinion, of no real worth. My time may have come about six years ago, when all I was saying was reinforced by legislation. But, still, I remained in the wrong team.
The only way forward, it seemed, was to elbow my way into that other team, taking advantage of a change in leadership. And so it is that I’ve finally got accessibility on the agenda.
Whatever our team does, I’m there championing the Equality Act, trying, trying to remind my colleagues that this is mandatory, not an optional nice-to-have.
But it’s hard work. Who would’ve thought that six years on from accessibility regulations becoming law, I would be the first person to roll training out across our organisation?
But more shocking than no one else even considering offering guidance was the admission of the service director that they hadn’t known anything about what accessibility entailed at all.
It’s an uphill battle trying to convince people of the need to do this essential work. Some get it, but most don’t. Least of all some of my colleagues who really should know best.
I’ve become the joke of our service, reemphasising the same point over and over like a broken record. But what can I do? I’ve made this my mission in life. I won’t rest until we get it right.
Last modified: 18 October 2024