Tag: inclusion

Federal Prosecutors Give Brazil 45 Days to Fix Nation’s Digital Accessibility

Posted on by Jonathan

In September, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) demanded that the federal government regulate Article 63 of Brazilian law within 45 days, aiming to increase digital accessibility. Ten years after the law was enacted, the provision has never been regulated, which prevents the establishment of mandatory standards and penalties for those who fail to comply.

A survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) revealed that only 3% of the country’s websites are considered accessible. Data like this shows that companies’ negligence toward this legal requirement remains a persistent issue, one that not only excludes part of the population but also overlooks its competitive market implications.

Given this scenario, it is essential to understand what digital accessibility is: the creation of environments, platforms, and content that can be used by anyone, regardless of physical, sensory, cognitive, or social conditions. This includes compatibility with screen readers, color contrast, image descriptions, captions, keyboard navigation, and sign language resources.

The most widely adopted international reference is the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), which defines the standards that websites and apps must follow. By regulating Article 63, Brazil intends to finally establish similar parameters.

Who is most affected?

With the advancement of the internet, it has become increasingly common for essential public services to be digitalized. Over a 30-year period, the digital evolution has been extraordinary . Today, it is possible to pay bills from anywhere in the world, without going to a bank or waiting in line. This shift is seen as positive, as it speeds up tasks and makes mobility more practical.

However, the central question remains: is this convenience accessible to everyone?

Recent IBGE data shows that 20.5 million Brazilians are still considered digitally excluded because they do not use the internet. These individuals are primarily older adults, people with disabilities, and people with low education or income levels. Democratizing this access is essential so that internet use does not become a privilege, as the online world is now central to research, leisure, creativity, and bureaucracy.

The lack of digital accessibility directly affects citizens’ lives. Failures in apps and digital domains cause many Brazilians to miss out on benefits and lose important deadlines because they cannot complete basic steps on digital platforms. In many cases, people must give up their autonomy and rely on others, exposing them to vulnerabilities that could have been avoided with more inclusive design.

This situation became evident in 2025, when the Federal Prosecutor’s Office investigated the accessibility of Brazil’s main government website, https://gov.br, and deemed that the platform’s facial recognition step was not accessible enough for visually impaired individuals.. Even after the addition of features such as a voice assistant and extended validation time, the service was still not considered adequate by the MPF.

In an exclusive interview with Yuvoice, Joyce Rocha shared her digital experience as an autistic woman. The accessibility specialist highlighted that companies’ disregard for digital inclusion largely stems from the ableism embedded in society, which seeks to undermine the independence of people with disabilities.

“This belief comes very much from ableism. Many think there is no need for such services, assuming these individuals depend on ‘third parties’. […] They are condemned to be seen only as vulnerable.”

Joyce also stresses the importance of sensitivity during the creation of these resources. With the rise of artificial intelligence and the automation of accessibility by many companies, Rocha believes that much of the design’s human sensitivity is lost during product transcription, directly affecting user experience.

Future outlook

The expansion of accessibility and the tightening of regulations are not limited to Brazil, but are happening worldwide. In June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into force, establishing mandatory legal requirements aimed at eliminating technological barriers and ensuring equal access to digital services.

In the United States, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) has for years established legal accountability for companies that fail to ensure accessibility in their products and services.

With the growing enforcement of digital inclusion, companies are prioritising not only the inclusive aspect but also in the pursuit of market competitiveness. One example is Microsoft, which, in response to regulatory developments, redesigned its products and documentation in advance to implement new inclusive features. The company’s approach shows that accessibility is not only a matter of rights but also of market strategy, where those who adapt quickly gain an advantage.

Racial Equality Lags at Work

Posted on by Jonathan

Only half of minority employees in Britain feel that companies are making progress on racial equality, according to a report last month by UK-based recruitment firm Green Park.

The report comes as firms battle a global backlash against DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies triggered by the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump. The views of non-white employees in the Green Park report contrast with those of company leaders and white employees, who are more positive about progress in addressing racial inequalities.

There has been change at the top. Ten years ago, the majority of FTSE-100 companies, Britain’s largest publicly listed firms, was led by all-white boards. This year, only five FTSE-100 companies have all-white boards, the report said. The Green Park survey of more than 700 people showed that 84.4 percent of corporate leaders believe business is making progress in addressing racial inequalities. Among white employees, however, that figure dropped to 69.3%, while for minority employees it fell further, to 51.2%.

“Corporate leaders are in sore need of a wake-up call – their own perception of progress is at odds with the perception of those who work for them,” Black British broadcaster and chair of Green Park Sir Trevor Phillips said in the report.

“The gap in sentiment between leaders and their ethnic minority employees can be seen from space. Not all employees see their bosses’ behaviours in the same way.”

Panellists at a Green Park virtual conference earlier this month warned about resistance to DEI policies. Green Park is a co-founder of Race Equality Matters, a British organisation of companies seeking to achieve racial equality in the workplace.

“The U.S. is the ground zero for the DEI backlash,” Tamara Box, chair of the women advisory committee at Britain’s Chartered Management Institute told the conference, attended by Yuvoice. Box pointed to an increasing wave of “pure self-interest and this sense of me-first”.

Box said Britain had always had a more positive approach to diversity policies than the United States, but added: “don’t kid ourselves that (this wave) isn’t coming here harder and faster”.

A majority of people in Britain view diversity policies positively, but that proportion has dropped to 52 percent, from 62 percent in 2023, according to a separate report released jointly last month by research group More in Common, Oxford University and University College London Policy Lab.

The right-wing Reform UK party, which is currently leading the ruling Labour party by 12 points in opinion polls, has said it will scrap diversity policies if it gains power.

Box told the conference that concerns about DEI policies needed to be taken seriously.

“In almost every organisation there will be a white straight ‘he’ who feels that all the things we talk about…leave him out. You can’t ignore a voice you don’t want to hear. There are people who feel left out of our efforts at inclusion, and by definition that means we are failing at inclusion.”

However, fellow panellist Mark Lomas, head of culture for the commercial insurance market Lloyd’s of London, said that businesses have a way to go, as they are not reflecting the ethnic make-up of the British population, nor of British universities.

“As managers, we have to be really clear that this idea of meritocracy doesn’t exist, anywhere.”