Exploring Diversity: Is Your Bank Accessible to Everyone?

The largest underrepresented population in the United States, and the one that many of us will eventually join as we age, is people with disabilities or impairments.¹ People live with a variety of disabilities and impairments, some legally protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that require places of business to make accommodations guaranteeing equal access. People live with a variety of disabilities and impairments and bankers should be aware of some of the challenges in order to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for both employees and customers. (For additional resources on Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, please contact Jonathan Thessen.)

The following are broad categories of different impairments that may affect a bank employee or customer:

• Vision – ranges from blindness to low vision, to spatial impairment, to color blindness
• Mobility – ranges from persons who use assistive devices such as wheelchairs, canes, crutches, scooters, etc., to persons who may appear mobile or dexterous but also experience chronic pain that limits their mobility or range of motion
• Speech or communication – includes stuttering, muteness, aphasia, or a disability resulting from medical conditions such as hearing loss, brain damage, muscle or nerve damage, or autism spectrum disorder
• Auditory – varying degrees of hearing loss or limited sound perception
• Neurological – typically involves disorders or diseases that affect the brain and/or nervous system with restricted mental processes, motor functions, or sensory perceptions, and may overlap with a cognitive impairment
• Cognitive – includes mental difficulties such as attention deficit disorder, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and dyscalculia and may affect intellectual abilities, communication, learning and concentration, self-help, decision-making, and social skills
• Medical – includes diseases such as diabetes; cardiovascular conditions; respiratory, immune system, and digestive tract disorders; chronic pain or other uncurable condition; some medical conditions, such as a broken bone, may be temporary in nature
• Psychological – ranges from depression and bipolar disorders to emotional issues and addiction
• Sensory – includes high sensitivity to noise, touch, fragrance, and may be directly linked to a cognitive or neurological disorder

Keep in mind that many disabilities are invisible or may not be immediately obvious. If a banker becomes aware of a disability affecting an employee, asking direct questions about their condition may violate a variety of state and federal regulations. A better approach is for an employer to indicate openness to accommodation: How can I make this process easier for you? Do you need extra time/a quieter environment/an assistive device or tool/etc.? Erring on the side of asking is preferable to making assumptions about the needs of people with disabilities.

Consider the entire workplace environment:

• The height of traditional bank counters may present obstacles to persons using wheelchairs or who need to sit down during a banking transaction; provide a desk-height counter with a chair nearby
• An employee with a sensory disorder may need to have a desk situated away from other employees who use fragrance regularly or use noise-canceling headphones
• Mobile apps that do not follow digital accessibility protocols and have not been user tested by people with disabilities may be frustrating for customers to use

When interviewing job candidates or conducting business with a person who has a disability:

• Allow assistants, such as an interpreter or service animal, and maintain eye contact with the candidate rather than a human assistant; do not pet or distract a service animal
• Allow assistive devices such as a personal laptop with specialized software and sit or stand at the same level as the candidate or customer; do not hover or lean over their shoulders to look at the screen
• Offer help such as holding one’s elbow out to guide a person who is visually or mobility impaired and let them decide to take or refuse the assistance; do not grab or hold their arm and do not attempt to push a wheelchair without asking
• Use descriptions such as reading a presentation slide or describing graphics for a person who is visually impaired (this also may apply to someone attending a meeting remotely without access to visual tools)
• Be sensitive to persons who need structured environments such as a predictable routine and refrain from changing schedules or projects in an untimely manner
• Never expect a person with a disability to disclose their condition to you or anyone else; be receptive if a person with a disability does disclose their condition and asks for adjustments or accommodations

These considerations are not an exhaustive list and many disabilities present differently in different people. The best practice surrounding accessibility is patience: allowing an employee or customer extra time to conduct work or business, communicate, and navigate the physical and digital bank. Paying attention to accessibility will result in inclusive experiences for both customers and employees.

About Naomi

Naomi Mercer is senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at ABA. She recently transitioned from a 25-year military career where she served as an assistant professor in the Department of English and Philosophy at the United States Military Academy and in the Pentagon running the Army’s gender integration and religious accommodation programs. Her educational background includes a doctorate in literary studies with a minor in gender and women’s studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an executive certificate in strategic diversity and inclusion from Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. She is the author of the academic monograph, Toward Utopia (2015).

¹Note: Language describing various impairments or disabilities is continually evolving. For the purposes of this article, I will use positive phrases, such as “people with a hearing impairment,” rather than phrasing considered by many to have negative connotations.