Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators

Choose accessible meeting spaces

• Select venues with accessible entrances, restrooms, elevators, and parking.
• Provide seating for wheelchairs, quiet areas, and easy access to exits.
• Use lighting so that people can see faces and interpreters.
• Reduce background noise where possible.
• Offer breaks and allow people to step away without judgment.
• Provide quiet rooms where assistive technologies can be used.
• Ensure access to tech support, adapters, charging stations, and different plug types.
• Avoid working discussions over meals in noisy or informal spaces unless accommodations are provided.
• Remind members not to hold important conversations unless the full committee is present.

• Inaccessible hybrid meetings
• Inaccessible in-person meetings
• Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators

Empower chairs and facilitators to manage conflict

• Encourage all members to learn active listening, empathy, and respectful disagreement before starting every meeting.
• Train chairs on how to handle conflicts, help the group agree, and run meetings in an accessible way.
• Give chairs tools and resources to run discussions, especially when power differences exist.
• Teach chairs when and how to step in if someone is dominating or others are being left out.
• Take short breaks if discussions get heated.
• Show chairs how to allow disagreement while still finding agreement where possible.
• Pay attention to whether people feel included, excluded, or uncomfortable. This will avoid conflicts from happening.
• Let people share concerns or complaints in writing or chat if they don’t want to speak out loud. Make sure these concerns are acknowledged.
• Keep records of how conflicts were handled and lessons learned from past meetings.
• Allow anonymous reporting when needed.
• Offer follow-up one-on-one conversations for sensitive issues.

• Develop clear conflict policies for meetings
  • Have written rules about professional conduct, respect, and how conflicts are handled.
  • Make these rules visible to all members and revisit them regularly.
• Train facilitators and chairs on conflict resolution.
• Update conflict resolution training as new techniques or challenges arise.
• Create a permanent mediator position to help with disputes during meetings.

• Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators
• Communication styles default to Western norms
• Default meeting language is English
• Dominant “expert” culture
• No clear way to report problems or get help
• People don’t start at the same place

Host onboarding meetings before committee work begins

Co-chairs should meet with new members individually to:

• Introduce the structure and goals of the committee
• Clarify roles, expectations, and responsibilities
• Explain workflows, working culture and norms, and decision-making processes
• Identify any initial access needs and come up with a plan to meet them

• Difficulty receiving and communicating information
• Dominant “expert” culture
• Lack of clear and accessible onboarding process
• Lack of training and support for committee members
• Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators
• People don’t start at the same place
• Unclear participation information

Make remote/virtual/online meetings accessible

• Platform & Tools
  • Use reliable platforms with accessibility features (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams).
  • Ensure platforms work with screen readers, braille displays, hearing aids, and other assistive technologies.
  • Encourage the group to choose collaboration tools together and decide how they will use them to best accommodate everyone. For example, many screen reader users prefer to have the chat feature disabled in a video conference or used very sparingly so that they aren’t listening to a speaker and the chat at the same time.
  • Allow flexibility and customization so tools can work with individual needs and assistive technology.
• Documents & Materials
  • Share all documents before the meeting in accessible formats.
  • Avoid live editing that screen readers or translation tools cannot follow or make sure to read out and describe all changes that are being made
  • Use screen sharing consistently and describe visual content for people who are blind or have low vision.
• Speaking & Participation
  • Remind participants to say their name before speaking.
  • Make sure only one person speaks at a time; raise hands before speaking and avoid talking over others.
  • Use inclusive language.
  • Explain jargon and abbreviations.
  • Keep captions on for everyone.
  • Ask participants to mute themselves if not speaking to reduce background noise.
  • Offer ways to participate without speaking such as chat, email, shared documents.
  • Repeat questions or comments from participants for clarity.
• Meeting Management & Inclusivity
  • Provide breaks and allow people to step away without judgment.
  • Allow anonymous feedback or a way to talk directly to the chair.
  • Share clear meeting rules so everyone knows how to take turns and ask questions.
  • Check in with quieter members to make sure they are included.
  • Offer virtual attendance for all meetings so people with mobility, transportation, or health challenges can participate.

• Inaccessible hybrid meetings
• Inaccessible virtual meetings
• Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators
• Limited meeting times and time zone exclusion

Provide chairs with practical support and tools for accessibility

• Give specific staff the job of supporting other staff and chairs with accessibility needs, so they don’t have to figure it out alone.
• Provide templates for chairs, such as accessible agenda formats, email invitations, and meeting scripts.
• Collect feedback after meetings about what worked and what didn’t for accessibility, and act on it.
• Offer expert support, like an accessibility advisor or help desk, that chairs can contact quickly during meetings.
• Pair new chairs with experienced chairs from other committees as a mentorship system.

• Lack of organizational support
• Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators

Provide ongoing accessibility and inclusion training

• Embed training into participation workflows. Training should be part of how committees operate, not a separate activity that people might not attend.
• Avoid generic training. Start with what people will actually do in the process.
• Provide training based on the skills and tasks associated with the roles and responsibilities
• Provide accessibility training regularly, not just once. Update it as best practices change.
• Offer regular training for staff and chairs on:
  • Accessibility and human rights laws
  • Disability inclusion
  • Different access needs (for example: D/deaf, blind, mobility, learning, fatigue)
  • How to speak and work respectfully with people from different backgrounds
  • How to arrange accommodations (like captions, interpreters, accessible documents, or extra time)
  • How to manage conflict during meetings
  • Using plain language during speaking

• Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators
• Lack of training and support for committee members

Provide translation and interpretation for everyone

• Offer translation and sign language/interpretation support from the start and make it normal for everyone to use.
• Test whether transcripts are working in advance.
• Use the automated transcript feature in video conferencing applications and save transcripts to share after the meeting. Check the saved transcripts for any errors or discrepancies after every meeting has ended.
• Give extra time for discussions and allow follow-up later, especially in international groups.
• Rotate meeting languages based on members’ needs, and provide interpretation when needed.
• Support smaller working groups in members’ native languages so they can participate more fully.

• Inaccessible hybrid meetings
• Inaccessible in-person meetings
• Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators
• Lack of training and support for committee members
• Difficulty receiving and communicating information

Use inclusive approaches for decision-making

• Don’t let only the loudest or most frequent speakers decide for the whole group.
• Set clear goals for each discussion so the same people don’t always dominate.
• Step in politely if someone talks too long or takes more than their turn. You can use timers or follow up individually.
• Use tools that let people vote or give input online, not just in the meeting. Polls allow voting without pressure. Make sure any use of polls is tested for accessibility first.
• Give extra time for people to think and respond, especially in global or multilingual groups.
• If time permits, make use of silent-brainstorming. Let everyone write ideas first, then share. This avoids only loud voices being heard.
• Make use of small group discussions. Break into small groups to talk, then share ideas with the larger group.
• Allow people to rank options instead of choosing only one if you have an issue reaching consensus.
• Document decisions and reasons by sharing written records so everyone sees what was decided and why.
• Ask quieter members or those with less power if they agree or have concerns before finalizing.

• Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators
• Dominant “expert” culture