How technology is making inclusion a reality

When organisations are implementing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within their business, they need to understand the important role technology can play in empowering these ideas. 

Deanne Weir, investor, company director and Chair at Ai-Media spoke with Digital Nation on the ways technology can bolster inclusion within an organisation. 

Weir said technology is an incredible tool for women to be able to work from home and for a lot of women who have caring responsibilities, the idea of working full time is not quite practical.

“It is particularly important for some women, from a security point of view, particularly in some emerging countries, being in their home environment is a safer environment for them to work from,” she explained.

“Having the technology tools that allow them to do that, whether it's allowing them to sell products online and allowing them to be part of a service economy, but doing it from home.”

At global captioning company, Ai-Media, Weir said they have a global workforce who are able to work from home captioning content, through the power of cloud technology, and through platforms that they have built.

“It's giving women much more access to paid employment, that is potentially much more flexible for them,” she said.

There's a certain anonymity that comes from technology, that can create accidental inclusion Weir explained.

“Where you can start dealing with people online, whether it's through written communication and even if it's through video communication you still don't know necessarily a lot about that person.

“Whether someone is living with a mobility disability or someone is from a different ethnic background that hasn't normally been represented in the environment that you're working in,” she added.

Technology also empowers people with disabilities, Weir explained. At Ai-Media they hire people with disabilities to help write captions.

“[There is a] fantastic woman whose lives with a disability who is producing and co-writing one of the feature films that we've been tracking for a number of years,” she said.

Technology has “levelled” the playing field Weir explained.

“It is through the technological tools that are available to them, that it's levelling the playing field. All anyone wants is to the opportunity to have a go,” she added.