Why is it so difficult?

Reflecting on discussions in a meeting and jotting down my thoughts. 

We build houses and by default we consider things like accessible entrances, toilets and layout as part of the build. We know if that’s missing it shows a blatant disregard for inclusion.

We build documents, and there are more documents than buildings, and ever increasing due to the ‘digital by default’ age we live in, yet we don’t have the knowledge or skills for the basics of inclusion. When broaching the subject people say things like ‘I haven’t got time, I hardly know anyone this affects’ to justify not learning basic skills, but why?

What is the difference between building a house with accessibility as part of the design and building digital content. Frustratingly the basic skills that can have a significant impact in everyday documents only take minutes to learn. Once learnt it takes no longer to build a document, so why the relentless pushback? 

Why on earth is this a battle? 

I am making progress with likeminded professionals and in the communities of practice I’m part of, but people beyond that are almost apathetic, what exactly is the problem? 

I’m fighting the perception of accessibility being complicated and costly, yet the SCULPT skills can be learned for free. I’m not going to give up, the world of documents can be different and one day will be. I’m persistent, I’m determined and I will make this happen.

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