How ERT is fostering a disability inclusive society

The 2025 theme commemorating International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPwD) is ‘Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress.’ The UN Secretary General in his speech, said that “there can be no sustainable development without the inclusion of people with disabilities.” [i] This year’s theme highlights the barriers to social development objectives, mainly:

• Reducing poverty for people with disability
• Promotion of full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Social integration.

To achieve these, persons with disability need to be both agents and beneficiaries of any changes in social, cultural, economic and political life. [ii].

At The Easy Read Toolbox, we’ve been fostering a disability inclusive society since founder Karen Hedley started this venture. We’ve experienced what it’s like to be part of an inclusive workplace that thrives.

Over 80% of our team live with disability and those who don’t are caring for people with disability. We provide flexibility, recognise and leverage each individual’s strengths, and provide the opportunity to further develop skills. All while paying award or above wages to everyone. Professionalism and expertise are never compromised.

Do we experience hard and stressful times? Yes, of course. All workplaces do.  But when people are given support, freedom and an opportunity to do their best work, they produce their best work.

It’s not something that was originally put into place intentionally, instead it’s how it’s always been, it’s our normal, and now intentional. And that’s how we know that it’s achievable.

But it’s not just in our work practices that we contribute to fostering a disability inclusive society, it’s the work we do and how we do it.

Universal design principles - We promote and practice an approach that supports making inclusion not just a goal but a standard practice, both in our own products and helping organisations design better communications. We believe the use of Easy Read should be a standard practice, rather than an afterthought.

We are generous with our expertise - We freely share principles and tips to make communication more accessible to all. We gift free memberships to people with disabilities and small organisations each year.

Equity and inclusion – We have been empowering people with cognitive disabilities and low literacy to participate fully in society by making complex information accessible. We empower through information, enabling people to understand their rights, navigate services, and engage in their community life.

Valuing lived experience – Our team’s combined lived experience forms the basis of our strategy, practice design and leadership. We work alongside disabled experts and user testers, ensuring materials reflect real-world accessibility needs. We pay our disabled artists award or above wages, reflecting our recognition of the value of their skills and lived experience.

Capacity building for organisations - We help organisations meet accessibility obligations and foster inclusive communication – we offer training and support for organisations to do their own accessibility upgrades, as well as our supportive, yet practical membership.

We are very proud of our International Easy Read Community of Practice (IERCoP) which began in 2024. It was set up by Sonya Kunawicz from Disability Equality Scotland, and our founder Karen Hedley. The International Easy Read Community of Practice is a group of people who use Easy Read in their lives either professionally or personally. By building connections globally, we both contribute and learn from other organisations who are advocating for a fully inclusive world.

The IERCoP has been discussing inclusive images, and Easy Read in fiction writing, and we are always looking for innovative ways to implement Easy Read and accessible communication into everyday life.

At a small scale the ERT is an example of what small and large organisations can achieve.

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Endnotes
[1] Message | International Day of Persons with Disabilities | United Nations – accessed 26/11/2025

[1] International Day of Persons with Disabilities | United Nations – accessed 26/11/2026