On Fridays, We Learn ASL
VMware is experimenting with different ways to help employees experience and learn about accessibility and disability inclusion. Last year, we introduced an American Sign Language (ASL) course to VMware employees and contractors.
Starting with the WHY
Why an ASL course? Well, it’s actually very simple. We want to integrate disability inclusion into everything we do. We want to teach our employees to build and design with accessibility in mind, foster an inclusive culture, and increase our diverse talent pipeline. We do our best to find creative ways to inspire disability inclusion.
We wanted VMware’s employees to not only read about or listen to content about D/deaf Culture. We wanted them to interact with the community, absorb community stories and experiences and get to know people, who might be different from them in some areas, but also very much the same in others.
In a previous article, I wrote about VMware’s Accessibility Advocates Program where we educate our employees on accessibility through online training, user engagement, community volunteering, talking to our users with disabilities, and more. We’ve now added an ASL class to the mix. Additionally the ASL class is open to children of employees to help enrich their standard school curriculums.
The Program
Each cohort runs for eight weeks. During that time, participants learn about sign language and, equally important, about D/deaf Culture. Employees commit to attending a weekly one-hour session and completing homework assignments. Each cohort has a dedicated Microsoft Teams channel where we schedule practice sessions and post homework, questions, and resources.
Similar to most traditional ASL classes, this class is taught with a “no voice” policy by a native ASL speaker via Zoom. From the time we start until the time we end, all conversations are in ASL or written (using the chat). After all, the best way to learn ASL is to use ASL. Sounds uncomfortable? Well, maybe. But it’s only through experiencing something new, learning that it’s okay to be uncomfortable and asking difficult questions that we can truly learn differences.
The result? Allies
Employees decide to join the program for different reasons. No matter their reason for signing up, their participation benefits both the employee and the organization.
Some of the participation feedback we’ve received is that this series of courses has allowed employees to learn something new about themselves and their abilities. It also helps them find a new appreciation for diversity and the uniqueness of other individuals. The lessons they take away help them to become more curious, open-minded, and willing to try new things. They:
- apply learnings to their day-to-day work;
- share knowledge with their families, and ;
- acquire a new drive to continue learning about different types of disabilities.
Participation creates allyship and spreads inclusion across the organization as well as at home with their children and loved ones. It really cannot get better than that!
Conclusion
This program started as an idea that was developed and tested in one region. For a very low cost, it was easily scaled across our global community using regional versions of sign language (ISL in India for example). This program has enabled VMware to increase our internal village of accessibility and disability advocates. If your organization is looking for a low effort, huge impact program to drive disability inclusion, try sign language classes. You’ll thank me later.
