Recruiting for diversity

Build in travel funding

• Create a travel fund to help cover extra costs like accessible hotels, support workers, or accessible transportation.
• Set aside emergency funds for unexpected access needs during travel.
• Provide clear information about what is covered and what is not
• Offer travel grants that people can apply for easily.
• Make the funding process simple, accessible, clear and quick.

• Recruiting for diversity
• Inaccessible in-person meetings
• Lack of financial support or payment
• No funding for accessibility accommodations
• Travel barriers for D/deaf and D/disabled people

Check and improve accessibility

• Create a permanent dedicated accessibility group within the organization to track inclusion over time.
• Celebrate improvements in accessibility and inclusion to show the group’s progress.
• Regularly assess the inclusiveness and accessibility of meetings and processes through feedback
• Consider accessibility across formats, devices, and languages.
• Design digital content so people with disabilities can access, understand, and use it.
• Conduct accessibility audits with usability and assistive technology experts to ensure all digital platforms including websites, member portals, application sites and feedback mechanisms are accessible.
• Offer alternative ways to participate: in-person, phone, relay services, video calls, or paper applications.
• Proactively consult with D/deaf and D/disabled committee members to determine specific access needs
• Provide accommodations to participants, including:
  • Sign Language interpreters (ASL, LSQ, etc.)
  • Real-time captioning (CART)
  • Note-taking services
  • Clear and consistent turn-taking protocols
  • Accessible digital files and materials in advance
• Ensure physical spaces (if used) are accessible for mobility devices, sensory needs, and rest requirements. (Physical Space)

• Inaccessible registration systems
• Inaccessible digital documents
• Inaccessible feedback mechanisms
• Inaccessible virtual meetings
• Recruiting for diversity

Make communications multi-modal and consistent

• Distribute information through multiple channels such as websites, social media, newsletters, community spaces, partner networks, mailing lists and community radio to reach people where they are.
• Use a mix of communication formats such as recorded videos, written guides, infographics, visual diagrams and print materials to make content as widely accessible as possible
• Provide materials in alternative formats (large print, braille, plain language, screen-reader compatible documents, audio/video).
• Offer synchronous (live), asynchronous (on-demand), and hybrid options to support different time zones, learning styles, and access needs.

• Maintain clear, consistent communication across multiple modalities, channels and platforms.
• Share opportunities in many different places and in different ways. This helps reach people who may not realize that standards development is open to them, or who do not see themselves represented in these spaces.

• Recruiting for diversity
• Communication styles default to Western norms
• Difficulty receiving and communicating information
• Unclear participation information

Promote standards in the communities they affect

• Work with D/deaf, D/disabled, under-representated and local community organizations to share new standards.
• Host community briefings, workshops, or explainer sessions to make the standards easier to understand.
• Provide toolkits in digital and print formats that explain the standards in plain language.
• Show how the standards can be applied in real-life situations and how people can use them to advocate for change.
• Use multiple communication channels such as social media, newsletters, and community boards to reach different groups.
• Offer translations, captions, or sign language/interpretation versions to make sessions inclusive.
• Encourage feedback from the community on how well the standards meet their needs.
• Highlight success stories where communities used standards to make a positive impact.

• Publishing standards does not guarantee awareness or access
• Recruiting for diversity

Recruit across D/disability and intersectional identity

• Broaden recruitment criteria beyond traditional technical expertise to value lived experiences of D/disability, community knowledge, and accessibility advocacy.
• Engage participants through community organizations, community leaders, and advocacy groups.
• Don’t limit recruitment to the same people or groups who already participate in standard work. Relying on existing committees, industry contacts, or repeat contributors, misses out on new perspectives and contributes to consultation fatigue.
• Seek participants from rural, underrepresented, younger, older, newcomer, and non-traditional groups.

• Be proactive - build long-term relationships with communities historically excluded from standard work.
• Focus on recruiting people who are underrepresented in your field including D/deaf and D/disabled people. One strategy is to regularly ask “Who else are we missing?”

• Recruiting for diversity