How CBC is approaching digital accessibility, and what that means to me
To mark National AccessAbility Week in Canada (May 29 to June 4, 2022), we’re highlighting some of the people and processes within our department that have a positive impact our desire to reflect all Canadians in what we build and how we do it.
This is the second story from this series. Please read other stories from this series here:
• How to optimize your Alexa skill for power users (hint: accessibility is usability)
• Want a more inclusive workplace? Start by welcoming every new hire 1:1
Imagine going to an escape room that has professional, humorous and talented actors guiding you throughout the game. Doesn’t that sound fun? But now let’s imagine going to this escape room being deaf or hard of hearing…. You get lost, very lost.
And that was me. I was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the age of one. I received a cochlear implant later on which brought me back to this world full of beautiful sounds. With my cochlear implant, I am able to communicate with people just fine if the conversation happens in a quiet place with good lighting, and if people talk one at a time.
Back to the escape room story — I had been a huge fan of escape rooms until adding non-player actors and audio clues into the game became popular. I understand that these features are added to make the experience more immersive for players, but it can be difficult for deaf and hard-of-hearing players to understand clues or even the whole storyline. There was a scary escape room that my hard-of-hearing friends and I visited. The room was so dark that it was almost impossible for us to lip read. As you can imagine, we could barely understand what the actor was trying to say. At one point, the eerie vibe was completely gone because we had to ask a ghost (who was supposed to chase us and kill us) to repeat himself about four or five times!
Since then, I have always asked for accommodations before going to an escape room. Some owners provide transcripts ahead of time, some message me the audio clues during the game, and there are some owners who refuse to help. This was one of the reasons I became interested in the accessibility field, and I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to join the accessibility team at CBC/Radio-Canada where I can contribute to make the world a friendlier and more accessible place for everyone.
I joined the accessibility team through the CBC Abilicrew Placements for Excellence Program (CAPE). CAPE is a 12-week program aimed to kick-start the careers of persons with disabilities, eliminate barriers to employment, and showcase the talents of this traditionally underrepresented group. CBC and CAPE are committed to providing accommodations to all participants to create a barrier-free workplace. I was touched from the bottom of my heart when I heard that CBC had approved a transcription tool to use with Google Meet. A tool like this not only benefits me, but also people who need extra time to understand technical meetings. This is called a “curb cut effect” — curb cuts were originally added to streets to accommodate those in wheelchairs, but curb cuts are helpful for other people as well, such as cyclists and people with baby strollers.
Introducing the accessibility team
Our mission is to foster an accessibility growth mindset within product teams that enables inclusive decision making so that CBC’s digital products can be used by the widest possible audience. Our standards for digital accessibility is WCAG 2.1 AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Check out Developing Empathy: The Importance of Digital Accessibility Workshops for more information about WCAG.
What we have been working on recently…
We conducted accessibility testing on Beijing 2022 Olympics and Paralympics widgets, websites and apps with various assistive technologies such as screen reader and screen magnification to ensure our interface and content was usable and understandable by the widest possible audience.
Besides accessibility testing, we ran empathy workshops to help designers and content creators understand how users with disabilities feel when they encounter elements that are not very accessible. We also provided advanced accessibility training that helps product teams build technical knowledge.
CBC’s Accessibility Tips for Designers and Content Creators
Check your colour contrast:
- Small text (under 18 point regular font) must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 with the background.
- Large text (at or over 18 points) and graphical objects must have a contrast ratio of at least 3 to 1 with the background.
- When in doubt, aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1
- Use WebAim Contrast Checker to check the contrast
Make sure you add meaningful alt text:
- Add alt text to informative images so that screen reader users can perceive the content and function of the images
- Do not have to describe everything. Consider what aspects of the image are important for the context of the post
- Avoid phases like “images of”
Keep Your Hashtags #Accessible:
- Make hashtags accessible by capitalizing the first letter of each word, so it is easier for screen readers to announce the hashtag when multiple words are present. It is also friendlier for people with dyslexia or cognitive disabilities
- For example, use #DisabilityAwareness rather than #disabilityawareness
I’m happy to see more and more designers, developers and producers are joining us to discuss innovation in accessibility and how we can improve the experience for all of our audiences, including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges.
We will continue improving our online products and providing inclusive experiences that inform, enlighten and entertain as many people as possible.
To join our teams at CBC, check out our current openings here.
