Since 1975, the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC) has championed the civil rights of people with disabilities and those affected by cancer and other serious illnesses. The Business of the Year Award recognizes companies that share similar goals and advocacy.
Here's what Sarah Herrlinger, Apple's head of Accessibility programs, had to say:
We believe technology should be accessible to everyone and view it as a basic human right. True innovation is in how you transform people's lives.
Apple has long made accessibility a priority, including support for technologies like VoiceOver in every new product, day and date with initial launch. The company also devotes stage time to accessibility technologies and how they benefit people in the real world. Because it's not just all about shiny new machine learning and artificial intelligence, social graphs and assistant algorithms. It's not just about the technology — it's about showing how the technology can make every life better.
The Disability Rights Legal Center was honoring that, and here's hoping the entire industry takes notice.
Also honored at the event was actor Helen Hunt for her work with Sesame Workshop, the company behind Sesame Street, and Exception Minds, the digital arts school for students on the autism spectrum, for their work in helping people with disabilities break into the entertainment industry.
Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved.
