One of the advantages of being a Microsoft Alumni Member is access to the Outside In events that are held on the Microsoft campus. The speakers are from all over the map in terms of background, age, profession, and so many other factors. Recently I had the privilege of seeing the most unique speaker. She was born in Oakland, CA and her parents are from Ethiopia and Eritrea. She has a guide dog to help her get around. Oh, and she is the first blind and deaf graduate of Harvard Law School.Disability is not the same as broken
Haben’s perception of Microsoft
- Microsoft people have access to magic wands
- Technology is a bridge
- Microsoft is doing a lot to help people with different abilities
She spoke about how the school cafeteria didn’t have braille options for the menus. She nicely asked for help and inquired about the options. What she heard was … there are no plans to make a braille version. She doesn’t take no for an answer easily. Again, she said with a wry smile … I did what everyone would do … I filed a lawsuit. She didn’t take pride in filing the lawsuit. She took pride in helping the school do the right thing.
If you get the chance to see, hear, or just be present when Haben speaks ... take it. If you know someone with different abilities ... bring them to an event with Haben. She is inspiring. She is a natural leader. Note Bene: She would be a great hire for Microsoft.
Haben in Eritrean means … pride
Seemingly simple things like "Gestures" to open a door are empowering. The picture above with a "wave to open" was taken on the Microsoft campus.
People with disabilities are often the best innovators.Learning Braille
~ Haben Girma
She spoke about learning braille. She talked about one of her early instructors took a very clinical approach to learning braille. She said under that mode of learning it wasn’t very successful. A later teacher made it easy by making it fun. He offered candy as a reward and kept it interesting and challenging. She thrived in this mode of learning … when Learning braille was fun … with rewards. Today there are tools that take content on websites and other computer systems that convert the text on the screen to a braille reader. This is a good start. There is more work to do.
Braille literacy is around 10%Advocacy
Advocacy is everyone’s responsibility. She brought up a few areas where people can push for change. Perhaps even ... can demand change:
- Podcasts – Make sure they include transcripts as it helps with SEO and Search in general
- Captions on videos – Ask and expect videos to include the option for captions (in multiple languages when it makes sense)
- Increase accessibility - plan for it at the start as it is harder to add after the fact
What is the call to Action?
Do one thing:
- Take one concrete step
- Remove barriers and access
- Make it fun. Make it inclusive.
Learn more about Haben
- Read her book: https://habengirma.com/book/
- Website: https://habengirma.com/
- NPR (read or listen): https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/07/31/428075935/she-owes-her-activism-to-a-brave-mom-the-ada-and-chocolate-cake
Learn more about the Microsoft Alumni Network - https://www.microsoftalumni.com
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Jeff is business advisor, mentor and community engagement expert. He brings over 20 years of Channel Sales, Partner Marketing and Alliance expertise to audiences around the world in speaking engagements and via his writing. He has worked for Microsoft, Kodak, and K2. He is currently the Technical Alliances Manager at Zerto where he focuses on the Microsoft engagement efforts.
Connect with me on Twitter @jshuey
He is a contributing author to Entrepreneur, Elite Daily, Yahoo, US News and to
the Personal Branding Blog with over 250 articles published.
the Personal Branding Blog with over 250 articles published.
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