Limited information on digital accessibility for disabled people in government policy documents

Discussions on accessibility and equal access to digital public services for disabled people in official documents are limited. These are the preliminary results of research focusing on the rights of disabled people and their ability to participate in society.

The research is led by Inga Björk Margrétar Bjarnadóttir, a doctoral student in the School of Education at the University of Iceland. “Society increasingly expects people to take part in digital development, but too often accessibility for different groups isn’t taken into account when introducing digital services or new technologies,” says Inga Björk.

Digital technologies not accessible to everyone

When asked how the research came to be, Inga Björk says she has long been interested in technology and its impact on disabled people.

“Often, technology has a positive impact on the quality of life for disabled people, but sadly, it is often inaccessible,” she says and explains as an example that some disabled people can’t use online identification because they don’t have access to electronic IDs.

“People run out of time and are inadvertently signed out, for example, when signing in to buy event tickets or when doing their banking online. Moreover, people don’t always understand user interfaces because a certain proficiency at media literacy is assumed, for example, that people can easily find out how to check for bus routes or watch a live stream on RÚV’s website.”

There was a turning point in 2019, when Inga Björk started working for Throskahjalp, a national organisation that advocates for the rights of disabled people. “I witnessed firsthand the difficulties people with developmental disabilities and their carers ran into when navigating these technologies. Therefore, I wanted to give myself some time to analyse these issues in-depth,” she says.

Analysing governmental policies in digital public services
Inga Björk’s supervisors are Laufey Elísabet Löve, associate professor at the Faculty of Subject Teacher Education in the School of Education, and Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson, professor emeritus at the same faculty.

On the one hand, the research is based on an analysis of government policies on digital public services; on the other hand, it is based on interviews. Inga Björk interviewed disabled people, government digital development professionals, and spokespeople from disability-interest groups to gather the perspectives of diverse, invested parties on the status of digital public service development.

Discussions in official policy documents a cause for concern

The first research article was published this summer in the International Journal of Disability and Social Justice titled „The Paradox of Progress and Accessibility: Ableism and Neoliberalism in Iceland’s Digital Transformation Policies.“

In the article, Inga Björk, Ingólfur and Laufey analysed public policies through historical discourse analysis, asking whether, and how, accessibility for disabled people is addressed.

As mentioned before, the findings gave them cause for concern, as discussions of accessibility and equal access to digital public services are lacking in government policy documents.

“Certainly, there is discussion of human rights in the documents, but our assessment is that this discussion is coloured by a discourse centred on progress and individualism, while human rights are given lower priority. Such an approach can undermine the rights of disabled people,” says Inga Björk.

By placing an emphasis on individualism, the assumption is that disabled people should be able to navigate society on equal terms with non-disabled people within a conventional system that, by its very nature, excludes disabled people. This shifts responsibility from society onto the individual, thereby concealing systemic ableism.

Disabled people must not fall off the digital train

Inga Björk has a background in the humanities and has long worked on human rights issues. She has served as a member of parliament, organised arts festivals, and worked as a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant.

“Thus, my various areas of interest in society, the people who make up society, technology, human rights and power relations come together. We are facing major societal changes and a changing worldview, and it has rarely been more important than it is now to examine and discuss these changes and their impact on people’s everyday lives.”

Inga Björk hopes that the research will draw attention to the challenges disabled people face if they are left behind as the digital train rushes past.

“I hope that the technology sector and the authorities will pause and take the time to find ways to ensure that no one is left behind. That would be to the benefit of us all,” she says.