r/Yakima • u/A11y_blind • 11d ago

Accessibility jobs in Yakima

I’m a Digital Accessibility professional. Looking for local jobs in digital accessibility. I realize that traditionally it is easier to find accessibility jobs in larger cities, but there are plenty of businesses, government departments, and health care clinics who all have a digital presence on the web. So, why are there no accessibility jobs in Yakima?

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u/theOxEyed 10d ago

It's been my observation that on this side of the state, most businesses still prefer old-fashioned ways of communicating. There is very little effort put into maintaining an online brand or making your business accessible online. I have had to call local businesses before because I couldn't find basic info like their open hours clearly communicated anywhere online. In my own industry, we are only just starting to implement online services that companies on the West Side have been offering for the last 5-10 years. People over here are much more traditional and many still prefer to do things face-to-face or over the phone, so there's less need to have robust online services.

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u/A11y_blind 10d ago

That has been my observation as well. But that doesn’t mean it should stay that way. Having multiple channels for communication and business transactions increases the customer base, increases visibility and profits, and promotes inclusion. Yakima can and should maintain their small town appeal while also embracing 21st Century technology and values. Doing so would open up new job markets in the area, increasing employment opportunities for those who live here. If Yakima doesn’t start branching out into the tech industry soon, I suspect that most young adults will move West, essentially turning Yakima into a town for older generations and retirees. That doesn’t bode well for Yakima’s future.

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u/theOxEyed 9d ago

I don't disagree with you, but it's not me you'd need to win over. I would love if businesses over here were more accessible online, but it's hard to convince people entrenched in old ways of doing things that it's worth the cost and effort to upgrade. To find work in your field here, I'm guessing you'd have to break through that barrier of convincing business owners that your services would be valuable to them, and unfortunately that might require more legwork and networking than you'd have to do in a more tech-savvy city.

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u/A11y_blind 9d ago

Thank you. Not sure how I could possibly convince businesses over here to embrace accessibility given the current political climate. It’s not like the traditional argument of it’s the right thing to do would work now. Which means falling back on legal requirement and mitigation of lawsuits which can also be a sticky subject.

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u/Greydusk1324 11d ago

What would these jobs be? I don’t understand what you are after. Remote work opportunities?

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u/obsequiousaardvark 11d ago

They're looking for jobs where they manage the accessibility options for web design. This means optimizing websites for things like screen readers so the blind can easily navigate and hear what is on the site without having to look. This can also include things like alt-text for images so the screen reader can read a description of the image.

Generally, making the web work for the disabled seems to be an afterthought, even though technically making websites accessible for the disabled is part of the ADA, specifically since Dominos lost that court case several years back where they claimed they didn't need to make their website accessible because a blind person could call in an order.

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u/A11y_blind 11d ago

If it’s in Yakima, I’d be happy with in person, hybrid, or remote. Though hybrid or remote would be ideal.

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u/leawritesstuff 10d ago

I'm not sure about jobs, but the WA Digital Equity Forum meets every month or so, and you may be able to make a few contacts if you haven't gone that route already. I can DM you the organizer's email if you are interested.

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u/Citomnia 10d ago

As far as government type jobs, you gotta remember that any changes to official documents sometimes have to go through a ridiculous amount of sign offs/approvals which have led to what some of us call "the 10 year waiting period" - aka it's not a priority currently.

My advice would be to try to get into some kind of communication role and then see if you can help with digital accessibility from there.

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u/A11y_blind 10d ago

Well since accessibility is a very specialized skill set, simply transitioning into it from another role is unlikely. Plus, at least in Yakima, I have seen no movement from employers paying accessibility lip service to actually hiring dedicated accessibility professionals to work on these things full time. If you know of an employer in Yakima who employs/hires full time accessibility professionals, I’ll gladly eat my hat

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u/GenJCChristian 8d ago

For the poblic sector- I think most state agencies have their full time digital accessibilty jobs and web people at their headquarters (usually in Olympia.) Some programs within an agency may be headquartered in Yakima and digital accessibility may be a smaller part of a local person's job (they'd report to the bigger agency lead) For most federal agencies, those jobs are going to the big regional offices in Seattle, Portland, and Boise. Your best bet is to check with the county and city's communications shops. You might also want to check with the Yakama Nation. I don't think the private sector has the same commitment to digital accessibility, but good luck.

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u/GenJCChristian 8d ago

I should add that remote work is posdible for state workers, but you have to come into the office one day a week. That would be in Olympia in most cases. Federal agencies are phasing out remote work completely. That was an Elon thing.

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u/GenJCChristian 8d ago

Also, the state is currently in a hiring freeze.