In honor of the International Day of People with Disabilities, Wells Fargo & Company (No. 9 on the Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies list) launched its Enterprise Accessibility Program Office. The office will coordinate and advocate for accessibility initiatives throughout the company to help deliver a positive and consistent team member and customer experience.
The overall goals of the Enterprise Accessibility Program Office are to:
- Serve as an advocate and leader in accessibility for team members and customers.
- Create and continue to sustain talent retention and opportunities for advancement for team members with diverse abilities.
- Foster a fully engaged and accessible workplace environment.
“We are focused on delivering accessibility experiences for customers and team members that recognize disability as a natural part of the human condition, and helping people with disabilities fully engage with the bank to succeed financially,” said Kathy Martinez, head of Disability and Accessibility Strategy at Wells Fargo. “While a lot of progress has been made since the signing of the American with Disabilities Act, more can be done to ensure accessibility for all, and we plan to do just that.”
Martinez joined Wells Fargo in 2015 from the U.S. Department of Labor, where she served as the assistant secretary of the Office of Disability Employment Policy. At Wells Fargo, she works closely with lines of businesses to define internal and external strategies related to online and physical accessibility; hiring and promotion of team members with disabilities; national nonprofit partnership programs; and disability-owned suppliers.
Recent Wells Fargo initiatives include the following:
Accessible Wells Fargo Services
Wells Fargo is committed to providing outstanding service to people with diverse abilities and ensuring they can access their accounts using a banking channel of their choice. These include:
- Accessible mobile apps for those who may be blind or have low vision.
- Materials in large print, large font, and Braille, and materials that are audio and screen reader accessible.
- JAWS (Job Access With Speech) screen-reader software installed at most branches, providing blind or low vision customers the opportunity to activate online banking. ADA accommodation is available in all branches where online banking stations have been removed.
Diverse Leaders Program for People with Disabilities
Wells Fargo’s Diverse Leaders Program for People with Disabilities offers leaders who identify ashaving a disability the opportunity tounderstand, reclaim and embrace the strengths and competenciesthat may have challenged them, and help them bridge the gap while retaining theirdifferences and values.These leaders practice leadership skills necessary for success in a diverse business environment, learn from senior leaders about how they achieved success in their careers, and build camaraderie through the opportunity to network, share and learn from others.
Accessibility Hackathon
In 2016, Wells Fargo implemented its first Accessibility Hackathon, in which 30 internal teams in the U.S. and abroad worked for two days in a virtual environment to develop technology that would improve the accessibility of a product, service or platform used by Wells Fargo team members. Hackathon winners produced insightful recommendations and solutions to improve accessibility for tracking time in the workplace for team members who have low vision or are blind. Wells Fargo hosted its second internal Accessibility Hackathon in November 2017 and had more than 28 teams participate worldwide.
To learn more about Wells Fargo’s commitment to accessibility, visit www.wellsfargo.com/about/diversity/accessibility/
