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Digital workplaces key to overcoming digital exclusion, expert says, as House of Lords releases landmark Parliamentary report

Too many workplaces fail to consider digital inclusivity – including designing for digital accessibility – a leading workplace expert has said, as a landmark report on digital exclusion is released by the House of Lords today.

Shimrit Janes, from international consultancy firm, Digital Workplace Group (DWG), says not enough is being done to design digital workplaces that are inclusive and accessible, nor to support people in developing the digital skills needed to use the tools required for their jobs.

Understanding the barriers to digital inclusion, and working to remove them, needs to be a priority for organizations and the government as modern life becomes increasingly digital.

The comments come on the back of a new Parliamentary report looking, for the first time, into the impact of the cost-of-living on the digital world.

Earlier this year, DWG’s own research found almost half of workers feared those with accessibility needs may have difficulty using the digital workplace in their organization.

Additionally, two in five said outright that they did not feel their digital workplace was suitable for those with accessibility needs, while almost 60% of managers expressed concern that not all employees were able to use the digital workplace effectively.

Now, a House of Lords report from the Communications and Digital Committee, has found the Government is failing ‘to take decisive action to tackle digital exclusion’ and is ‘allowing millions of citizens to fall behind – with multi-billion-pound impacts on economic growth, public health and levelling up. Overall digital skills shortages cost the economy up to £63bn a year’.

It says a new digital inclusion strategy is needed, after the last was published in 2014, and requires Parliament to act now to end the injustice.

Shimrit Janes, DWG’s Director of Knowledge, says the House of Lords report marks a ‘watershed moment’ for shining a light on digital exclusion and urged organizations to ‘seriously assess’ whether they are doing their best on removing the barriers for equitable participation when it comes to the digital environment.

Shimrit says: “The cost-of-living crisis has put a strain on everyone’s budgets, including those whose workplace is primarily or wholly digital. This exacerbates access to elements essential for digital inclusion such as broadband, skills, hardware, and digital services designed for inclusivity and accessibility. The findings of the report show how this disproportionally impacts people on lower incomes, older generations, and disabled people, further widening the digital divide.

“For organizations trying to cut costs, this means that budgets are more likely to get removed from work focused on creating inclusive and accessible digital workplaces, including investing in the digital skills of their people.

“However, it’s essential that organizations prioritize digital inclusion for their people, as a way of supporting recruitment and retention, and to ensure employees can carry out their jobs and also participate in wider organizational life. This requires focusing on access to equipment (including broadband), nurturing digital skills, and understanding motivational blockers to participating.

“Today’s House of Lords report marks a watershed moment for understanding the far-reaching implications of digital exclusion in the context of life post-pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

“No-one, including the government and organizations, should discount the importance of fostering digital inclusion when considering participation in both the working world and civic society in 2023.

“Organizations who are failing to put in place proper digital inclusion measures should seriously assess whether they are doing enough to support all their staff and act immediately where gaps are found.”

A Government spokesperson told newspapers: “We are committed to ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age. Steps we are taking include putting essential digital skills on an equal footing in the adult education system alongside English and Maths.

“To boost access, we have worked closely with Ofcom and the industry to bring a range of social broadband and mobile tariffs, available across 99% of the UK and starting from as low as £10 per month, and our £5bn Project Gigabit has already resulted in 76% of the UK being covered by gigabit broadband, up from just 6% at the start of 2019.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Harrop .