Creating Inclusive and Accessible Tech Policies in the Sports Industry: A Playbook for Senior Leaders
In the fast-paced world of sports, we know a winning team needs everyone at their best, working together toward a shared goal. As leaders, you understand that creating inclusive and accessible policies isn’t just about checking boxes. It’s about ensuring everyone on your team can bring their A-game—whether they’re athletes, employees, or fans. In the realm of technology, it’s especially important to ensure that our tools, platforms, and systems work for everyone.
Just like on the field, the goal of inclusive and accessible tech policies is to create equal opportunities for everyone to participate, engage, and excel. So let’s get started with a game plan that’ll help you create winning policies and bring your organization to the top of the league when it comes to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in tech.
Game Plan 1: Know the Playing Field – Understand Legal Requirements and Best Practices
Just like studying the competition, before creating tech policies, it’s essential to understand the rules of the game. That means getting familiar with legal requirements and industry best practices around accessibility.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are two key rulebooks you’ll want to study. ADA compliance ensures that your digital platforms and tools are accessible to individuals with disabilities, while WCAG provides detailed guidelines for making web content more accessible. These guidelines cover everything from color contrast to keyboard navigation to making sure assistive technologies, like screen readers, work smoothly.
Beyond the legal landscape, look to industry leaders who are paving the way in accessible tech. Learn from their successes and failures, and incorporate their best practices into your strategy. Just like in sports, scouting reports can provide invaluable insights for improving your own game.
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Game Plan 2: Build an All-Star Team – Involve Diverse Voices
In sports, a diverse and talented team is crucial to success. The same is true when developing inclusive tech policies. To create policies that genuinely reflect the needs of all users, it’s essential to have diverse voices at the table.
Form a cross-functional team that includes people from various departments—tech, legal, marketing, HR, and, crucially, employees from underrepresented groups. Partner with agencies owned by people with disabilities and diverse groups to get deep insights and perspectives that will set your policies up for success from the start.
Much like how every player brings something different to a team, these diverse voices will help you generate innovative ideas, and create tech policies that are truly inclusive.
Game Plan 3: Take a Data-Driven Approach – Measure Accessibility and Inclusion Metrics
In sports, stats are everything. Data tells us how players are performing, where we need to improve, and what strategies are working. The same principle applies when creating tech policies. Measuring accessibility and inclusion within your tech infrastructure should be a priority.
Here’s a stat line to consider: How many of your platforms are accessible according to WCAG standards? How many users with disabilities can successfully navigate your apps or websites without barriers? Are there racial or gender disparities in the data that highlight inequities in access to your tech resources?
Conduct accessibility audits of your tech platforms and gather data to identify gaps. This data-driven approach will help you track progress over time and ensure you’re meeting the needs of all your users—whether they’re employees, athletes, or fans.
Just like reviewing game film, analyzing your metrics will give you insights into areas where your tech policies need improvement. And remember, the numbers don’t lie.
Game Plan 4: Prioritize Universal Design – Make Tech Usable for Everyone
In sports, it’s not enough to design plays for just your star players. The whole team needs to be able to execute. The same holds true for tech policies. A strong strategy is to prioritize universal design—creating technology that’s usable for everyone, regardless of their abilities or background.
Universal design ensures that your tech isn’t just compliant with accessibility standards, but that it works seamlessly for all users. For example, captioning isn’t just helpful for people who are deaf or hard of hearing; it also benefits non-English speakers, people in noisy environments, and those who prefer reading along.
When developing your tech policies, think about how to make your platforms easy to navigate, intuitive, and adaptable. Consider implementing features like adjustable font sizes, screen reader compatibility, speech recognition, and easy-to-use interfaces. A winning team creates plays that every player can run—your tech should do the same.
Game Plan 5: Keep Your Fans Engaged – Foster an Inclusive Tech Culture
In sports, fan engagement is key to success. The same is true for employees and users when it comes to tech. Creating policies is just the first step—building an inclusive tech culture is the real goal.
Encourage ongoing conversations about accessibility and inclusion within your organization. Offer training programs for employees on best practices for creating and using accessible tech. Regularly check in with employees and users to gather feedback on the tools and platforms they use.
Think of this as your halftime pep talk—keep the team motivated, engaged, and focused on the goal. By fostering a culture that prioritizes inclusion, you’ll create a sense of belonging for everyone, and that’ll show up not only in your internal performance but in the satisfaction of fans and users who interact with your technology.
Game Plan 6: Be Agile – Adapt, Innovate, and Iterate
No team wins by sticking to the same game plan season after season. Adaptability and innovation are key to long-term success. The same applies to your tech policies—once they’re in place, it’s essential to remain agile and open to change.
Technology is constantly evolving, and so are the needs of your users. Just like you’d tweak your strategy based on new data, feedback, or trends in the sports world, your tech policies should be regularly reviewed and updated.
Hold periodic “post-game reviews” of your tech platforms to ensure they’re still meeting accessibility standards and are inclusive to all users. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new tools or approaches. Stay ahead of the competition by continually iterating and improving.
Game Plan 7: Celebrate the Wins – Recognize Progress and Success
In sports, victories are meant to be celebrated, and the same goes for DEIA efforts. Recognize the hard work of your team in creating and implementing inclusive tech policies. Share success stories with your organization and highlight how these policies are making a difference for employees, athletes, and fans alike.
By celebrating the wins—both big and small—you’ll inspire your team to keep pushing toward greater inclusivity and accessibility. Whether it’s a platform update that increases usability for people with disabilities or a new tool that promotes inclusivity across the board, take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate the progress you’re making.
The Final Whistle: Winning the Inclusion Game
Creating inclusive and accessible tech policies in the sports industry isn’t a one-and-done effort—it’s a continual process, much like training for the big game. By understanding the rules, building diverse teams, prioritizing universal design, using data to track progress, fostering an inclusive culture, and remaining agile, you can create tech policies that help your organization excel.
Remember, just like in sports, a truly inclusive team gives everyone a shot to succeed. With the right strategy in place, your tech policies can ensure that no one—whether they’re a user, employee, or athlete—is left on the sidelines. Now go out there and win the game of inclusivity!
