One of the criticisms of the technology industry is that, by focusing on products and platforms, it has forgotten about people. Advocates for disability rights are adding that they want to see a greater commitment to disability inclusion in product development as well as global development.
Last month, a group of civil society organizations published a call to action on Devex arguing that donor agencies and implementing organizations are failing to fulfill their commitments to inclusion of people with disabilities. Delivering on this promise would have a big impact, particularly given that the roughly 15 percent of the global population who live with disabilities are also disproportionately living in poverty.
As Silicon Valley continues to emerge as a key partner to the global development community, the technology sector could make or break the future of disability inclusion and strike a blow against the unequal treatment of people with disabilities, experts told Devex.