Jump to a video summary of our introduction.
We have a passion for inclusive communications. This interest started many years ago for us as communication professionals. Our passion developed as part of our experience in the public and third sector. And as fellow human beings!
Building an inclusive culture that supports accessible best practices is hard to do. For this research, we interviewed colleagues in the public sector. We set out to identify the challenges professionals face when attempting to do this. We will highlight some of the practical and psychological challenges.
We understand how challenging this change can be. We have led initiatives to make content more inclusive. We have done this in organisations where accessibility is not a strategic priority. This type of environment makes it even more challenging to create an inclusive culture. Our expertise focuses on digital content. In our opinion, all content should be inclusive and accessible.
This topic is wide and complex. Even the language is complex. Accessibility is often associated with websites. And sometimes social media. But the aim is to be more than accessible – to be inclusive of everyone. And that is why we prefer the phrase “inclusive content”.
In this paper, inclusive content includes:
- digital content (news stories, newsletters, social media)
- websites
- digital publications
Our interviewees play a role in the operational delivery of inclusive content. As a result, in our interviews, we focused on:
- executive sponsorship
- operational culture
- resources
- skills
- individuals as a catalyst for change
We do not explore workforce equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) practices.
We have found themes about why operational consistency is difficult to achieve. The strategic and operational support that is required is huge. Improving an organisation’s approach to inclusive content is not easy. And it is not the responsibility of a few passionate professionals.
But in a few organisations, there has been success. These organisations had senior leadership support. It was clear who that leader was. Leadership prioritised inclusion activities and made investments. These organisations had a culture of inclusivity. Responsibility moved away from passionate individuals. Communication teams were no longer solely responsible. Inclusive practice became everyone’s responsibility.
We would like to thank our research supervisor Stephen Waddington for his support. Thanks to Ruth Dale for her initial advice and for helping us scope out this project. Most importantly, we thank our interview participants.
Leanne Hughes and Kim Tooke
February 2024
Inclusive communications 