What is Ableism?

What causes our bias against those of us with disabilities? Why do we expect an accessible product to be ugly and unattractive? Why is marketing to the disabled the kiss of death for a product’s image?

In this next edition of Access + Equity, we’ll unpack the baggage that history has brought us, from the cruelty of eugenics to the barriers caused by the medical and charity models of disability. We’ll look at how much ableism is part of our everyday life, and you’ll learn to spot it even in ordinary conversation.

Join Claudio Luis Vera and Beth Wagmeister as we host a round table with some of the disability community’s leading figures:

SHERI BYRNE-HABER is arguably the accessibility world’s most prolific blogger. As her day job, she is head of accessibility for VMWare.

SAM KELLY is a community builder for a major nonprofit and a powerful advocate for accessibility and disability rights.

NIC STEENHOUT is a speaker, trainer and consultant on accessibility, disability and inclusion. He created the a11yrules podcast and interviewed dozens of the top people in the industry. A wheelchair user, Nic also travels extensively as a digital nomad somewhere in Canada.

BETH WAGMEISTER is a changemaker and advocate for the d/Deaf who works with an impressive array of cities, towns, businesses nonprofits. She teaches American Sign Language in online courses, and through video shorts on Instagram. She is also a presenter who conducts workshops on the ADA.

CLAUDIO LUIS VERA left a successful career in UX design to become an advocate and thought leader for accessibility. He is an outspoken leader in the South Florida UX community, and an accessibility expert for a major cruise line.