Hi friend,
A lot of business owners think investing in accessibility and inclusivity means:
costly software,
expensive equipment,
a lot of effort.
The plot twist? They’re wrong. And…
Exclusion costs more.
Way more.
Plus, solutions can be simple.
(They’re often free).
In this post, we’ll look at how inaccessibility can destroy your brand’s:
Reputation
Productivity
Profitability
And how you can keep them safe.
The commercial case
Prioritising accessibility and inclusivity is the right thing to do.
By that, I mean the world should be as easy and safe as possible to navigate - for everyone.
That’s a good enough reason in itself.
1 in 4 people in the UK are Disabled.
32% of households in England include at least 1 Disabled person.
68% of Disabled adults have felt excluded from products or services due to inaccessibility.
Yet many business-minded folks want to know why it’s the smart thing to do. (That’s what this post will look at.)
Money is not why we do this work.
And also: if you’re not prioritising inclusion and accessibility, you’re at risk of losing money.
Many business owners think accessibility and inclusivity means: costly software, expensive equipment, and a lot of effort. But exclusion is much more costly, and the solutions can be simple.
By overlooking inclusivity and accessibility, your business loses out.
Whether you’re missing out on loyal customers, an engaged team, or profits. Whether you’re facing a damaged reputation or legal consequences.
Ignoring inclusivity and accessibility isn’t just harmful to marginalised folks; it’s also bad for business.
1. The reputational cost
Brands aren’t just selling products.
They’re looking to create deep, lasting connections.
To do that (well), you need to show up for people in ways that work for them - whether you’re creating content for d/Deaf people, neurodivergent people, or attention-frazzled folks who haven’t spent more than 20 seconds off their phone since 2019.
It’s important to:
recognise people process information differently,
understand that “good enough” accessibility isn’t actually good enough (and the bar is horrifyingly low for what some of us consider “accessible”),
listen to the experts: people who actually experience the issues (instead of scrambling to fix PR crises later).
Ignoring inclusivity and accessibility isn’t just harmful to marginalised folks; it’s also bad for business.
Big brands aren’t immune
Companies can’t rely on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or hush money to keep workplace issues quiet.
People talk. Whisper networks exist. Employees warn each other.
62% of employees would reject a job offer from an organisation with a culture that didn't support diversity, equity and inclusion.
And a decent (public) reputation won’t protect you from scrutiny.
Even well-resourced brands mess this up:
Steven Bartlett’s company faced backlash, with negative Glassdoor reviews exposing toxic workplace practices.
Heinz released not one, but two racist adverts.
I worked with a huge brand (household name, though you won’t find their name in my portfolio for obvious reasons) whose website failed the most basic accessibility standards. It could’ve been sued for millions for failing to apply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
No company is immune. And customers notice when things don’t feel right.
The impact on customer loyalty
Failing to prioritise inclusivity and accessibility is a surefire way to lose (repeat) customers - particularly younger ones.
53% of UK consumers say a brand’s diversity and inclusion efforts influence their purchase decisions.
This rises to 66% among Black consumers.
94% of Gen Z consumers expect companies to take a stand on important social issues.
81% of millennials and Gen Z expect companies to care for their staff; 78% expect them to support pay equality.
People don’t just listen to what brands say.
They pay attention to what they do.
2. The productivity cost
An inaccessible workplace doesn’t just exclude customers/employees.
It’s also really inefficient.
Companies that prioritise disability inclusion are 25% more productive than their competitors.
People waste time and energy trying to function in a system that wasn’t designed for them.
If systems are inaccessible, people will spend more time navigating obstacles than doing their job.
If people don’t feel psychologically safe, they’re less likely to contribute ideas.
If communications aren’t accessible, key information gets lost.
Example: team meetings
Unnecessary discussions waste time.
Your company might book a meeting to:
debate whether to use “neurodivergent” or “neurodiverse” in marketing materials,
check that your job descriptions use gender-neutral language,
question the representation of your website imagery,
discuss whether to prove flexible working options.
Adopting an inclusive approach upfront - for instance, having clear guidelines, and an inclusive language strategy - would avoid those meetings.
Saving you time and money, and keeping your team focused on more meaningful work.
Tool suggestion: Meeting Cost Calculator from Harvard Business Review. Input the people involved in the meeting (and their salaries), and calculate the actual cost of that 30-minute meeting.
Example: delegating tasks
I recently worked with (let’s call her) Leyla, who works at a huge communications company.
She was in trouble because her bosses thought she wasn’t listening to them properly.
They’d call her out of the blue.
They’d delegate tasks without clear instructions.
Leyla would spend hours working on what she thought they wanted - to find out it wasn’t right.
Leyla is neurodivergent.
The sudden, verbal instructions were a terrible fit for her, partly because of auditory processing delays.
If the workplace had focused on inclusivity and accessibility, they could have avoided hours of frustration, and Leyla could have been more productive.
Through 1:1 coaching sessions, Leyla and I worked on:
asking questions to clarify instructions,
reflecting key details to check her understanding,
requesting instructions in writing.
If the workplace had focused on inclusivity and accessibility from the start, they could have avoided hours of frustration. And Leyla could have been a whole lot happier and more productive.
Dodging burnout
When you work in an inclusive and accessible way, you get the best out of people.
It leads to:
lower levels of burnout,
fewer unexplained absences,
less staff turnover.
People are more likely to stay - which is key, since replacing staff is expensive. Like, ridiculously expensive.
Meanwhile, teams that haven’t addressed inclusivity tend to face problems like:
discrimination, bullying and harassment,
deep harm to minoritised staff,
burnout,
lack of career progression,
unequal treatment and resentment,
pay disparities,
ineffective decision-making,
low morale.
Causing more and more folks to leave - damaging your productivity, reputation, and profitability.
3. The profitability cost
We don’t do this work for profit reasons.
You’ll often hear me say the business case for DEI is bankrupt.
We don’t do it for the money. But, if we miss out on accessibility, we’re missing on potential customers.
The collective spending power of Disabled households continues to grow - right now, it’s worth about £274 billion per year to UK businesses.
86% have chosen to pay more for a product from an accessible website - rather than buy the same product for less from a website that’s harder to use.
Inaccessible websites cause UK retailers to lose around £17.1 billion annually; 70% of Disabled consumers abandon sites that are difficult to use.
Research has found companies that prioritise disability inclusion make:
Legal consequences
Neglecting accessibility is a legal - and financial - risk.
In many countries, businesses are legally required to make reasonable adjustments for Disabled employees and customers.
Failing to do so can lead to lawsuits, fines, and (again) a damaged reputation.
Workplace disability discrimination claims are rising.
Even if legal action doesn’t happen, the cost of fixing problems later is always higher than doing things right the first time.
Retrofitting accessibility is more expensive than integrating it from the beginning.
Scrambling to fix a PR disaster is more costly than avoiding one in the first place.
GDPR hates your accessibility overlays (and so do I)
Accessibility overlays are widgets/tools that claim to make your website accessible.
It sounds like a good idea - especially as less than 1% of the top one million websites meet accessibility standards.
But accessibility overlays are absolutely awful.
If you have one on your website, please please please get rid of it.1
Overlays typically fail to meet accessibility standards. They often break assistive technology. Many assistive tech users have to auto-disable them, because they’re so harmful.
Plus, they can violate GDPR by collecting user data without consent.
Rather than relying on ineffective, surface-level fixes, it’s best to invest in genuine accessibility improvements.
That way, you’ll provide a better user experience for everyone - and stay compliant.
It doesn’t have to be complicated
Businesses that prioritise inclusion and accessibility don’t just avoid reputational damage, missed profits, and legal issues.
They build stronger, more loyal teams. They create workplaces where people actually want to be.
They attract customers who trust them.
This is the part where you might start to panic.
“What if we get it wrong?”
“What if it’s too expensive?”
“What if it’s too complicated?”
Well, friend, I have great news:
Improving inclusion and accessibility is often simpler than you think.
In fact, I don't know a single brand that couldn't make huge progress on its inclusivity and accessibility practices in a year (or less).
The changes don’t have to be huge; small, consistent improvements add up.
Outsource to an expert
Plug me into your team, and I’ll support you through:
Want to work with me?
Fill out my work with me form to get in touch.
Oh look! A button.
Some people argue that accessibility overlays can occasionally be acceptable as a temporary solution. Personally, I’d just say get rid.
Great breakdown of the business case for inclusion.
It’s telling, though, that we still have to frame it this way to get traction.
Inclusion shouldn’t need a P&L to justify its existence. And yet, in most boardrooms, that’s the language that unlocks action.
Appreciate you translating values into outcomes. That’s often what moves the needle.