March is Women’s History Month, and the theme this year is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.”
To celebrate the women in the learning and development field and multiple education spaces, we reached out to internal and external partners and thought leaders to talk to them about their professional lives and how Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion have impacted their careers.
At ansrsource, we believe in the power of DEIAB … Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging … to educate, elevate, and enrich people’s lives. We are grateful to the women who chose to share their experiences with us.
We hope you enjoy learning about the women we spoke with as much as we loved speaking with them.
Happy Women’s History Month!
Sambhavi Chandrashekar
Global Accessibility Lead, D2L Corporation
Q: If you consider yourself a DEI advocate or activist, what inspired you to do this work? Can you share a personal story or experience that fueled your passion for this cause? Have you had role models or mentors who have influenced you in this work?
I am indeed a DEI advocate. Further, I also promote the recognition of disability as a part of DEI. I believe in IDEA – Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (or Allyship). I learned about inclusive design from Dr. Jutta Treviranus, my doctoral committee member at the University of Toronto, and mentor since 2005. Inclusive design is about designing to meet the diverse human needs arising out of differences in age, abilities, gender, sexuality, race, nationality, culture, language and many more. It is about recognizing and including human diversity through design. Jutta conceptualized, socialized and taught inclusive design at the University of Toronto. In 2010, she started a Master of Design program in Inclusive Design at OCAD University.
After completing my post-doc, I taught in Jutta’s program for 5 years. For over a decade, I was also working with the Inclusive Design Research Centre headed by her, applying inclusive design to pan-Canadian non-profit projects. I grew curious about how operationalizing inclusive design in the industry would be different from its application in academia and the non-profit space. I joined D2L in 2017, setting a challenge for myself to make inclusive design and accessibility succeed in the industry. D2L’s inclusive culture and leadership supported me in embedding inclusive design and involving people with disabilities across the product life cycle. I could bring about the understanding in the company that measuring accessibility and inclusion is not about numbers but about the tangible and intangible value it brings to the business.
Essentially, what I learned from nearly 20 years of studying, teaching, researching and practicing inclusive design is that giving the same thing to everyone in the name of equality does not serve everyone’s purpose. While equality is about giving everyone equal inputs or opportunities, equity is about giving in such a way that everyone is able to get equal or equitable outcomes. For this, it is necessary to give each one what they need. Thus, human diversity can be served through equity and that will result in inclusion.
Q: Is there a person doing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work currently who inspires you?
Dr. Jutta Treviranus. She goes one step further to add disability to DEI and use inclusive design as a means to achieve accessibility and inclusion.
Q: If you could recommend some resources to people who want to learn more about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (book, podcast, article, documentary, movie, etc.), what would they be?
- Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
- Disability:IN Resource Library
- The Inclusive Design Guide
- Breaking Barriers: Why DEI Is the Missing Piece to Workplace Success
- The 05 Most Influential Women In D&I To Follow, 2023
- From Accessibility to Inclusive Design
- Digital Accessibility – the people behind the progress
- How Inclusive Design Transformed Me
About Sambhavi:
Dr. Sambhavi (Sam) Chandrashekar is a recognized accessibility champion and an award-winning inclusive design educator and researcher with nearly twenty years of strategic and direct operational experience in implementing inclusive design projects successfully in the non-profit, academia, and industry sectors in Canada. Sam is currently the Global Accessibility Lead at D2L Corporation, an education technology company head-quartered in Ontario, Canada. Prior to that, Sam worked with the Inclusive Design Research Centre in Toronto and taught at OCAD University in their Master of Design program in Inclusive Design. Sam continues to supervise student research in graduate programs in Inclusive Design at three Canadian Universities. Sam actively influences policy and legislation as Vice-Chairperson of Accessibility Standards Canada’s Committees on Accessible & Equitable Artificial Intelligence and Accessible ICT Products & Services, Vice Chair of Global Leadership Council of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals, Advisory Council Member of the Canadian Accessibility Network and many more.
