We talk a lot about leadership pipelines, talent retention, and gender equity at work. But one of the biggest moments of risk in a woman’s career isn’t when she hits a glass ceiling. It’s when she goes on maternity leave.
Despite decades of progress, research shows that up to 74,000 women in the UK lose their jobs each year due to pregnancy or maternity-related discrimination¹. Nearly half of mothers report negative experiences at work related to pregnancy, maternity leave or returning—and 1 in 5 leave their jobs as a result². And for those who do return? Over 80% say it negatively impacts their confidence, mental health or both³.
These numbers tell a clear story: we are underestimating the scale and complexity of the transition to motherhood. And we are under-resourcing women through it.
That’s where maternity coaching steps in—and why it’s far more than a “nice to have.”
Maternity coaching provides structured, professional support before, during, and after parental leave. It holds space for the emotional, identity, and logistical challenges of becoming a parent while managing a career.
Common coaching themes include:
Planning for leave and managing handovers
Navigating identity shifts and loss of confidence
Returning to work and re-establishing role clarity
Rebalancing domestic responsibilities
Reconnecting with ambition and long-term goals
But coaching isn’t just about performance—it’s also about wellbeing. And that brings us to something that still isn’t talked about enough: maternal mental health.
In my article for Maternal Mental Health Week, I reflected on how easily new mums downplay how they’re feeling.
The six-week postnatal check isn’t enough. Many mothers never say out loud that they’re not okay. Postnatal depression, anxiety, rage, or the long tail of sleep deprivation can linger well beyond maternity leave—and often bubble up again during the return to work.
That’s the missing link: Maternal mental health doesn’t stop when maternity leave ends. For many women, returning to work—often exhausted and unsure of themselves—is just as vulnerable a period. And yet, the expectation to “bounce back” is enormous.
Coaching can’t replace clinical care, but it plays a vital complementary role. It provides space to process the emotional load, build confidence, and plan realistically. And for many, it’s the first time they’ve been asked: “How are you really doing?”
As someone with ADHD, I know how difficult it is to manage the chaos of early motherhood. Executive dysfunction, mental load, and disrupted routines can overwhelm even the most high-functioning professionals. When structure disappears, so can confidence.
For neurodivergent mothers, maternity coaching provides scaffolding. It helps build systems, protect energy, and move forward with clarity—even when everything feels uncertain.
In coaching sessions, I often ask: “What would be the impact of not preparing before maternity leave or return?”
The answers are sobering:
Loss of identity
Lack of confidence
Conflict at work or home
Anxiety over visibility and career progression
The silent question: “Can I still be the ambitious person I was now that I’m also a parent?”
The coaching process brings clarity, strategy, and self-compassion. It helps new parents stay anchored to what matters most, even when the external world is shifting.
If you’re serious about retention, inclusion, and wellbeing, start here. Maternity coaching isn’t a “perk.” It’s a strategic, inclusive intervention that helps people return to work stronger, not smaller.
Support doesn’t have to mean fixing every problem. Sometimes it just means saying, “We see you. And we’re with you.”
Here’s a prompt I often use with clients: “What do you want life to look like in five years and what needs to happen now to make that future possible?”
It’s easy to live in the short term when you’re exhausted. But your long-term goals, values and ambitions deserve space too.
Pause. Reflect. And know that support is out there, coaching included.
A final note: I’ve been using the brilliant maternity coaching framework developed by Frances Cushway, a comprehensive, compassionate and practical model that supports every stage of the transition to working parenthood. It’s been a powerful tool in my work, especially when combined with an ADHD lens.
If you’re curious about how this framework can support neurodivergent parents—or want to learn more about the pilot I’m currently running, you can find more details here.
Footnotes
Pregnant Then Screwed & HR Magazine (2024): 74,000 women lose their jobs due to pregnancy/maternity discrimination annually
EHRC and TUC Research: 1 in 5 women leave their job due to pregnancy and maternity discrimination
Working Families Annual Report (2023): 84% of women face challenges returning to work; 30% receive no employer support
Written by Chris Naswari this article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
We speak with Heather Hepburn, Head of Accessibility at Skyscanner, where she’s spent the past five years embedding inclusive design across one of the world’s leading travel platforms.
In this conversation, she shares her journey into accessibility, practical ways to design more inclusively, and how the Champions of Accessibility Network is helping drive change across the industry.
Hey, I’m Heather Hepburn, Head of Accessibility at Skyscanner. For those of you who don’t know Skyscanner, we’re an online global travel brand. We find great flights, hotels, and cars for our travellers. We translate our services into 37 different languages. We have over 10 million travellers a month who use us.
I run the accessibility programme and I’ve been doing that for five years. Internally, my responsibilities include creating the accessibility strategy for the business, planning our work and roadmaps, raising awareness and understanding of accessibility and disability inclusion, running our champions network, and building accessibility into our processes. I also advocate for accessibility externally, working with our airline and online travel agent partners, and speaking at various events. I also co-run the Champions of Accessibility Network (CAN) with Gareth Ford Williams and Charlie Turrell.
When I started at Skyscanner, I joined as a content designer. During my interview process, I was asked to do a UX critique of the Skyscanner app, and that’s when I realized how inaccessible it was. I had some knowledge from my previous job at RBS, where we considered accessibility when designing our products, but not loads. I ended up writing a job description for myself to start an accessibility programme at Skyscanner, and that’s how it all started. I’ve learned an awful lot in the last five years!
It really does. One of the biggest things in accessibility is making your content easy to understand. The role of a content designer carries significant accessibility responsibilities. If you’re writing visible content, you should also write any hidden content for screen readers at the same time and in the same tone of voice, so inclusion has always been something I’ve had to consider. The content design team at Skyscanner is now heavily involved in accessibility as well and help keep the rest of the designers in check, which is great.
Super important – it is my work. Every project or conversation I have is about improving accessibility, mainly in our traveller-facing products like our websites and apps. I also speak to our brand marketing teams about making their output accessible. We’re a team of two in a large company, so we have to shout loudly and often. We talk at town halls, other teams’ meetings, and have one-to-one conversations with designers and developers all the time. These range from getting people on board with accessibility to reviewing work and helping make elements or features more accessible.
Skyscanner runs global induction sessions for new staff every two months, which now include an empathy lab where we simulate different disabilities and get participants to carry out simple tasks. Empathy labs can be controversial, as the best way to understand disability is by speaking to someone with lived experience, so we do caveat these sessions very strongly that they are just simulations. However, they are easy to set up and can be repeated, and they start great conversations to get people thinking differently. So many people say things like “I’d never considered how someone might use a phone if they can’t see” and those conversations and considerations are so important to making them think in an inclusive way. It’s a great start for our new staff to then go on to learn how to create accessible products for our travellers, or how to be more inclusive with the way they communicate internally.
Our efforts to promote inclusive design begins with training product and content designers and we’re always looking to improve on what training we provide.
In addition to our accessibility training courses, we run hands-on workshops, including screen reader workshops with Adi Latif, an accessibility consultant who uses a screen reader himself. We’re also striving to implement accessibility practices into design processes by default. User testing is important, and we try to get designers to talk to disabled users early and are also trying to promote more co-designing with disabled users.
We also do what we can to ensure accessibility is considered as early as possible in the concept and design process, so we try to make this as easy as possible for our designers. We’ve introduced an accessibility checklist, as well as a semi-automated accessibility annotations tool called Include, which is eBay’s open-source toolkit. On top of this, we have weekly drop-in sessions for designers to ask questions and review their work with us.
There are plenty of challenges to this. Designers have a lot to think about and so we need to make accessibility feel like something they want to do rather than extra work to get buy-in from them. And accessibility is difficult! There are so many elements to it, and while it’s easy to start making positive changes, it’s hard to consider everything and be very good at it. That’s why we’re always looking to upskill and make the improvements we can.
It’s very, very hard to make things perfect, but considering these three areas will help designers make something great. It’s so much easier to do things right from the start than to fix them later.
I heard Gareth Ford Williams and Charlie Turrell, both ex-BBC, were thinking about starting a champions network, so I got in touch and asked if I could help. We had a steering committee with big names in accessibility which was exciting – I was pinching myself about actually being there! After initial work with them to set the direction, Gareth, Charlie and I got CAN up and running.
It started a couple of years ago as a LinkedIn group. It’s a network for anyone involved in accessibility, with over 2000 members from various sectors, from accessibility specialists, to designers, to developers, and everyone in between. The idea of the group is that it’s a safe space for support and advice, with such a wealth of experience amongst our members to provide guidance. We run monthly online meetups and some face-to-face meetups on topics ranging from accessibility strategy or the European Accessibility Act to setting up your own accessibility champions networks or burnout in the industry.
It’s a very supportive, collaborative group which anyone can join. A great part of the online meetups are the breakout rooms at the end for people to connect – it’s a lovely way to network with others who care about accessibility. So that’s what we’re trying to do – get people together, share all the wins and the struggles, and learn from each other. It’s just such a positive group of people. We absolutely love running it and feel very honoured to do that.
Accessible Design Resources
Following the insightful recommendations from our Design For All participants, we’ve curated an extensive collection of tools, guides, articles, books, blogs, and videos. This resource is specifically designed to support accessibility and inclusion specialists at every stage of their journey.
View Accessible Design Resources
Written by Mike Harley this article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
As part of our True Diversity blog series, we spoke with Inclusive Futures, a not-for-profit organisation who empower students from underrepresented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds.
We discuss how diversity and inclusion drives stronger, more innovative workplaces and learn about their mission to build inclusive cultures.
Let’s start with the need for Diversity and Inclusion, what’s your take – why is it so important?
At Inclusive Futures, we believe that inclusion isn’t just a business strategy – it’s a fundamental force for positive change that ripples through every level of society.
Let’s start with the bigger picture. In our communities, inclusion breaks down barriers, creates opportunities, and ensures every voice matters. It builds a society where diversity isn’t just accepted but celebrated as a source of collective strength and wisdom.
For individuals, we see daily how inclusion transforms lives. When people feel truly valued and heard, they thrive. They bring their authentic selves to work, share their unique perspectives, and contribute to their full potential. This sense of belonging and psychological safety is fundamental to personal wellbeing and growth.
And yes, our research conclusively shows that inclusion powers business success. Organisations with inclusive cultures are:
Can you share a little bit more about what you do – what’s the purpose and mission of your initiative/ programme/ organisation?
We’re passionate about helping individuals, teams, and organisations increase their impact through inclusive leadership. Our approach focuses on creating cultures where diverse perspectives are actively sought, where every team member feels valued, and where contributions from all are welcomed.
In today’s world, employees are actively seeking organisations that demonstrate genuine commitment to inclusion. It’s become essential, not optional, for attracting and retaining top talent.
This is why we partner with organisations to develop inclusive leaders who can create these transformative environments and cultures. Through our work together, we can build a more equitable, innovative, and successful future for everyone.
We help transform organisations by putting inclusion, people, and culture first. Our passion lies in helping teams create environments where everyone feels valued and part of something bigger.
Our programmes deliver:
Through:
Our Difference: We bring energy, curiosity, and genuine partnership – not ‘business-as-usual’ solutions. Every engagement benefits both your organisation and the wider community.
What do you consider potential consequences of a lack of Diversity and Inclusion and what do you see as the main benefits of an inclusive workforce?
The consequences of overlooking diversity and inclusion reach far deeper than most organisations realise. When workplaces lack inclusive cultures, they don’t just miss out on talent – they systematically underperform. Teams become echo chambers, innovation stagnates, and valuable perspectives remain unheard. The human cost is equally significant: decreased morale, higher turnover, and a workforce that feels unable to bring their authentic selves to work. This ripples out into society, reinforcing barriers and limiting progress.
But the flip side tells a compelling story. Truly inclusive workplaces aren’t just better places to work – they’re demonstrably more successful. Our research shows they’re eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes and six times more likely to innovate. They attract and retain top talent, foster environments where diverse perspectives drive better decision-making, and create spaces where everyone feels valued and heard.
The benefits cascade through every level: from enhanced individual wellbeing and motivation, to stronger team collaboration and market understanding, to positive community impact. When organisations embrace inclusion, they don’t just future-proof their business – they become catalysts for lasting social change.
In today’s world, inclusion isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s the difference between thriving and surviving. The choice is clear: embrace inclusive practices and flourish, or maintain the status quo and risk being left behind.
How can businesses and potential employers get involved with your initiative/ programme/ organisation?
You can visit us at www.inclusivefutures.co.uk or email hello@inclusivefutures.co.uk.
Or if anyone wants to talk to me directly about how Inclusive Futures can help develop a truly inclusive and transformative environment and culture, you can contact me directly: iain@inclusivefutures.co.uk
If you are a part of an initiative, brand or company that proactively champions diversity and would like to be featured as part of the “True Diversity” series please get in touch with Tony.
View True Diversity blog collection
Written by Chris Naswari this article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
In this article, we chat with Matt Thomas, Design and User Experience Manager at Motability Operations. With over a decade at the organisation, Matt shares how he and his team are embedding inclusive design across a range of internal and B2B products, supporting over 800,000 people with limited mobility.
From weekly “Accessibility Surgeries” to department-wide learning, Matt gives a practical look into what it really takes to make accessibility a core part of how a business designs, builds and delivers.
My name is Matt Thomas, and I’m the Design and User Experience Manager at Motability Operations. We work in the Commercial Operations division. I lead a team which is responsible for design across a range of products, including our B2B commerce platform which sells vehicles to dealerships across the UK, and all the supporting products and services which our colleagues use that help make this happen.
I’ve been at Motability Operations for 11 years. Early on, I worked in internal communications and marketing before moving into design. Reflecting on my career, whether at MO or previous companies, I’ve always been focused on improving experiences, whether with software or physical services. I guess I’m just one of those people who believes there’s always a better way of doing things and I’m keen to explore new ideas.
Motability’s main customers are people with limited mobility or disabilities, and everything we do ultimately aims to improve the experience for them – it’s great to work in a role in such a purpose-driven environment. My team specifically work on products which are used by car dealers in the motor trade, and our colleagues we work with each day. Quite a broad range of users and needs!
It’s really important. We work for a company who help over 800,000 people access independent mobility. As a leader in the design and product space, inclusion must be core to what we do, and part of that is bringing other people on that journey to show them the value of inclusion as well. It’s also simply the right thing to do.
We design for accessibility as a core principle, not just for customers but internally for our colleagues too. It’s about embedding accessibility across the board into how we design and work.
I think of it on three levels: individual, team, and departmental.
At the individual level, I expect designers to be comfortable and confident with accessibility. I set that expectation and support them through providing one-on-one coaching, learning through others in the team, and other resources so they can embed that learning within their product teams. I want them to get excited by accessibility, and encourage them to bring interesting new accessibility things they to share with the rest of the team.
At the team level, we hold an “Accessibility Surgery” every week — a dedicated session with specific actions focused on accessibility. This can involve exploring new tools or resources, tackling a particular problem that someone from the product team is facing, or discussions around how to embed accessibility into a new feature or product. We also look at how the designers can work more closely with their colleagues in each of their product teams to help build their knowledge and transfer their accessibility knowledge to other disciplines.
At the departmental level, we share accessibility learnings during town halls and product days, which are days dedicated to working with all the product teams across the department. We’ve also hosted talks about inclusive design at internal tech conferences too, helping spread knowledge across the wider company. It’s really important not to just keep our learnings within the team, but to take those learnings and push them across the whole department and broader organisation.
One of the challenges is that while our team has chosen to go deep into understanding accessibility, other teams and disciplines haven’t always reached the same depth. When we suggest the changes needed to meet accessibility standards, it can sometimes seem like a lot of extra effort if they haven’t already got the knowledge in place. Sometimes that means it takes longer for teams to implement those changes, which might lead to accessibility being perceived as slowing down delivery and make it harder to get teams to make accessibility changes in future.
Again, thinking at those three levels:
· Individual: Dive in and learn all you can. There are so many resources online now that make it easy to learn a lot quickly. Early on in your inclusive design journey, looking for gaps where you can make a difference with small changes is great. Finding smaller, quick wins add up over time, and help you dive in and understand those things further.
· Team: Set up a recurring accessibility meeting like an Accessibility Surgery. There was a point where I just had one designer in my team, and I put it in the calendar at that stage, so we had that time, even if it was just an hour a week, dedicated to accessibility. Now, years on with a bigger team, it’s still in the calendar every week and makes sure we’re always thinking about how to design inclusively, makes sure we’re building knowledge and solving problems. Dedicating time weekly builds momentum and knowledge over time so I’d definitely recommend this.
· Department: Share your wins. If you make accessibility improvements to a feature or product, do a bit of a write-up to show the before and after, what difference it makes, and share these with managers or in broader meetings. People won’t know it’s happening unless you tell them about it, so it’s really important to show people the improvements you’re making to build that attention and understanding of accessibility.
Also, don’t wait to be asked. Start doing, start sharing — even small actions matter.
· Craig Abbott’s blog — particularly his guidance on the European Accessibility Act given that’s coming into effect so soon.
· Mobile app testing resources — like Andrew Hickory’s guidance on mobile app testing and an accessibility handbook by a Dutch company called Appt.org. Doing accessibility right on mobile can be really tricky, and a lot of issues that come up in our Accessibility Surgeries are on the mobile side of things, so it’s great to have
· Accessibility card deck because everyone loves card decks! This is a visually engaging resource that’s being improved over time, and is really easy to dip into and get to grips with accessibility.
· WCAG in Plain English – This is our new favourite accessible thing to share! Really nicely broken down and easy to understand and consume. It’s made it really easy to collaborate closer with our content and engineering colleagues around accessibility, too!
Accessibility is hard and there’s no quick fix. It’s not a case of just getting a list of things you need to do to make a website accessible and implementing them in one go – it’s regular, ongoing work. Even if you build a fancy design system with accessibility built in, that’s just to the level of the components. You still need to do accessibility testing once you put those jigsaw pieces together. A design system like this isn’t a replacement for an accessibility focussed mindset.
It’s a long and enduring commitment, but it’s the right thing to do, and there’s a great community out there to support you. It’s tough, but it’s worth it.
Accessible Design Resources
Following the insightful recommendations from our Design For All participants, we’ve curated an extensive collection of tools, guides, articles, books, blogs, and videos. This resource is specifically designed to support accessibility and inclusion specialists at every stage of their journey.
View Accessible Design Resources
Business Leaders & HR are under a lot of pressure here in the South-West. Employer NI increases are now with us, limited budgets, and rising expectations from talent. So, when you’re building out a benefits package, it’s natural to prioritise the ones that tick the “most people, most of the time” box. But if you want your benefits strategy to build loyalty, protect productivity, and future-proof your workforce, you must think differently. In my experience, utilisation isn’t always the right way to measure the success of a benefit. Some benefits might only impact a handful of people, but for those people, it can mean everything. If we’re serious about inclusive benefits, we must meet people where they are, even if that need isn’t common.
Because some of the highest-impact benefits are the ones your employees won’t use often. They’re the ones that quietly sit in the background until someone has a real need and suddenly, that benefit becomes the reason they stay, not leave. What do I mean by that? Here’s some examples of what that looks like in practice.
For example, Fertility & Reproductive Health Benefits. Offering fertility support (Egg freezing, IVF, donor support, surrogacy navigation) can feel and sound like a niche benefit. Most employees won’t use it. So why invest?
Because the absence of support comes with hidden costs. Research tells us that 1 in 7 UK couples experience fertility issues. IVF takes a physical and emotional toll: constant appointments, hormonal treatments, failed cycles…all while employees try to show up at work. Many reduce hours, take sick days, or even quietly leave during treatment. Others are forced to spend tens of thousands privately, causing financial and emotional stress. This disproportionately affects women in their 30s and 40s. But it doesn’t stop there: LGBTQ+ employees face unique financial and medical hurdles to build families. Without support, they’re more likely to churn or disengage. Offering benefits here isn’t just about doing the right thing; it’s about retaining high-value talent at a moment when they have big life choices to make. And for every employee who doesn’t use it? They see the offer. They see what kind of employer you are.
Keeping on the similar theme, another example is keeping Workplace Nursery Schemes. Childcare is the *1 reason working parents (especially mothers) scale back or leave the workforce. It’s not anecdotal. It’s backed by data across every sector. Workplace nursery salary sacrifice schemes reduce the cost of registered childcare by allowing payments from gross salary. This can mean thousands saved per year. And not from your HR budget, but via tax-efficient mechanisms. It’s one of the most financially meaningful benefits you can offer parents, yet uptake remains low in most organisations. Why? Because many employers don’t make the most of communicating it. Offering this benefit (and making it visible) removes one of the biggest logistical and emotional barriers to returning after parental leave. And it doesn’t just keep people in their jobs; it helps them re-engage faster, with fewer compromises and more long-term commitment.
Finally, another example are Income protection and Critical Illness benefits. When an employee becomes seriously ill or injured, it’s not just a health crisis, it’s a life interruption. Suddenly, work becomes impossible. And without structured support, income often disappears just when stability is needed most. Income protection fills that gap. It ensures an employee continues to receive a portion of their salary while they recover, allowing them to focus on getting better, not on whether they can pay their mortgage. And that continuity materially improves the odds of a full, confident return to work.
For Business Leaders and HR, this is where lower-utilisation benefits prove their worth. Income protection shortens recovery time, reduces presenteeism, and increases the likelihood that skilled, experienced employees don’t exit permanently. And when other team members see that their employer has their back, even in worst-case scenarios, it builds a level of trust that policies alone can’t buy.
All the above examples do not scale…and that’s the point!
Low-utilisation benefits aren’t supposed to serve everyone, every day. They’re designed to catch people in their most vulnerable, high-stakes moments. That trust is a lever for everything you care about retention, engagement, productivity, culture.
Business Leaders and HR often get told to “think creatively & strategically.” (This is the Bristol Creative’s Community, right?) Here’s the truth: empathy is strategic. Investing in benefits that show foresight, nuance and care is how you build a workforce that stays, grows and delivers. Because when your employees are most in need, they won’t care about your summer social. They’ll care about whether you were there when it counted.
And if you were? They won’t forget it.
UWE Bristol and Bristol Creative Industries (BCI) have formed a new partnership to support Bristol’s thriving creative businesses and provide enhanced careers opportunities to students entering the industry.
Bristol Creative Industries is one of the UK’s leading membership bodies for businesses and freelancers working in the creative sector. The not-for-profit organisation provides training and skills development, facilitates networking and business connections and supports sector growth, and currently has a membership of over 1,100. UWE Bristol will play a leading role in developing BCI’s student engagement and growing student membership.
With a rich creative and cultural sector in Bristol and the wider region, the partnership has been designed to offer insight and career opportunities to thousands studying courses rooted in the creative industries, including marketing, events, filmmaking, photography, media and communications.
Current and recent students can join BCI for free. Student members will have access to speaker events, placement and employment opportunities, and career advice from BCI members, which currently include Aardman, the Watershed and Bottle Yard Studios, giving students real-world experience and insight into working in the industry.
The partnership also aims to benefit BCI members, by developing a network of trained students who will make up the future workforce within the region and are ready to enter the industry.
Lynn Barlow, UWE Bristol’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Creative and Cultural Industries Engagement, said:
“This is a really exciting opportunity for students and for Bristol’s creative industries more widely, as we support Bristol Creative Industries’ strong network of businesses and freelancers with fresh student talent. We’re really proud to be playing a leading role in such an important organisation.
“At UWE Bristol, our programmes are designed with industry to ensure our students are meeting the needs of their future employers and are work-ready. Our partnership with BCI bolsters this further, by offering students greater access to creative businesses of all sizes for invaluable industry insight and career opportunities.”
UWE Bristol and BCI officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the University’s Bower Ashton campus, which will commit both organisations to developing and supporting BCI’s student membership offering.
Lis Anderson, Bristol Creative Industries co-chair, said:
“Talent and skills development is a top priority for our members and this partnership will facilitate early access to emerging talent for our members, at scale.
“Building upon strong connections with education providers in the region, UWE Bristol’s breadth of programmes and BCI’s membership base of employers will work to bridge the gap between education and industry, enabling many students from a wide variety of backgrounds to unlock new opportunities and career pathways right here from the creative hub that is Bristol.”
This article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
We caught up with Samantha Merrett, Senior Accessibility Specialist at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
She shares her journey into accessibility, the role inclusion plays in her work, and how small design changes can make a big impact. Samantha also offers practical advice for designers looking to create more accessible experiences and highlights key resources to stay ahead in inclusive design.
The purpose of the series ‘Design For All’ is to demonstrate the importance of inclusivity in design and share knowledge on how to create more inclusive and accessible design experiences.
Hi there, my name is Samantha Merrett, and I am a Senior Accessibility Specialist working at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). I have been at the MoJ for nearly a year now and I have worked in the Civil Service for more than 8 years.
Before joining the team at the MoJ, I was Accessibility Lead at the Food Standards Agency and GOV.UK Managing Editor at the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Whilst working at the MoD, I managed a small team of editors editing and publishing content on GOV.UK. The introduction of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR) in 2018 required us to upskill quickly to understand how to ensure our content was accessible.
However, there was one specific moment that made me realise that accessibility was the career for me! I spent time working on the Armed Forces Pension forms to try and make them more user-friendly and accessible. We ran focus groups with users to understand the problem areas and then worked to fix the issues. We then presented the improved forms back to the focus group and the attendees was so thankful that they could now independently claim for their pension.
It was that moment for me that made me realise how important accessibility is. I might have only helped one person in that room but that was enough for me! What we do matters and it can have a profound impact on the users that we serve.
For me accessibility and inclusion go hand in hand, if we make things more accessible, they should be more inclusive for all. In my current role, we encourage all colleagues to consider accessibility from the start, whether you work in design creating digital products or write emails and documents, accessibility should be front and centre.
Adding accessibility in at the beginning makes it much easier to ensure the final product or design is accessible. Addressing accessibility early in the design process is more cost-effective than retrofitting a product later.
Designing for accessibility can lead to innovative solutions that benefit all users. For example, adding captions to videos benefits not only those with hearing impairments but also for users in noisy environments.
Fundamentally, accessible design can enhance usability for everyone not just those with disabilities. This promotes equal access and prevents exclusion.
Promoting inclusive design is a core aspect of my work. I strive to ensure that the information and tools I provide are accessible to everyone. This involves using clear and concise language, offering alternative text for images and ensuring all interactive elements are keyboard accessible. I also never stop learning; I continuously keep up to date with standards and best practices to provide the most relevant and effective support to my colleagues.
One of the main challenges I face is designing visually engaging content whilst making it accessible. I like to ensure that complex topics are explained in an understandable way. Infographics and visuals are often avoided when it comes to accessibility, but this overlooks the benefit they can provide for those who are visual learners or neurodivergent. If graphics are designed using the appropriate colour contrast, accessible font types and use clear and consistent layouts they should be accessible to users. Of course, to make the content accessible you must also provide an appropriate, equivalent text version of the content so users can read through the text if they prefer.
First, you need to understand your users. Take the time to learn about the different ways people with disabilities interact with digital products. This might include using screen readers, keyboard navigation or using voice commands. Talk to people with access needs about their experiences, specifically in the area that you are working in. It is important to truly understand your users and acknowledge that not everyone’s experience is the same. We are all individuals with our own needs and preferences, and we all deserve to have these needs considered.
Never stop learning and make sure you invest time and energy into your own self-development. Continuous learning helps you to stay up to date with the latest news, technologies and best practices making them more effective in your role. Accessibility is an ever-evolving topic, and it can sometimes feel difficult to keep on top of all the latest trends. If you can prioritise your own development, you not only advance your career but also help to contribute to the overall success and adaptability of your team and organisation.
There are so many amazing resources that I could share but these are a couple that I refer to time and time again.
Accessible Design Resources
Following the insightful recommendations from our Design For All participants, we’ve curated an extensive collection of tools, guides, articles, books, blogs, and videos. This resource is specifically designed to support accessibility and inclusion specialists at every stage of their journey.
View Accessible Design Resources
This article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
Introducing Franca Wade, a talented designer in the Brand and Creative team at the National Trust. With a background in graphic design and illustration, she has navigated a career across publishing, marketing, and communications before finding her place in design.
In this chat, she shares insights on the role of women in design, the impact of creativity on future generations, and advice for those forging their path in the industry.
I’m Franca, a Designer in the Brand and Creative team at National Trust. I studied graphic design and illustration in Bath before working in a few creative sector jobs, mainly in publishing. I joined the Trust a little over 9 years ago in Marketing and Comms, then the Images team, finally landing in the Design team 4 years ago. Being part of a conservation charity keeps me motivated – I’m passionate about helping to make the National Trust accessible to everyone, and the power of nature to improve health and wellbeing.
From social media designs and fundraising packs to children’s activity sheets and concepting for seasonal campaigns, no two days are ever the same. My favourite project was wrapping trams with designs of giant flowers, insects and birds for our Blossom campaign last spring. Hopefully they made people’s days a little brighter!
As a woman I see empathy, compassion and emotional connection as a thread running through my work. Designing for a charity with a meaningful cause – restoring nature, making nature, beauty and history accessible to all, and inspiring future generations to care for nature and heritage – reminds me that creativity can be used a tool to inspire people, unlock emotions and bring about positive change.
I’m a strong believer in the impact creativity can have on future generations and I love working on projects that are aimed at young people and children. That’s the work that excites me the most.
My thoughts are around motivation and intention. For anyone starting out, I’d say do what you enjoy and believe in. Figure out what kind of creativity you’re interested in and pursue that – whether it’s motion design, illustration, graphic design, UX, creative direction, photography or film. If you’re passionate and excited about what you choose to do, that’s what will give you the most energy and be sustainable in the long run. It’ll also allow your unique skills, vision and ideas to shine through. Don’t try and force yourself to work in a certain environment or style that doesn’t naturally fit because that’s a good way to kill creativity or burn out.
And as a woman, don’t be afraid of setting yourself up for success. Make yourself visible, find your voice, be clear about what you want and don’t be afraid to ask for it. Take time each week to recognise your successes, big or small, and celebrate the successes of women around you along the way. Be intentional about your priorities – if you’ve got clearly defined goals, you’re more likely to get to where you want to be.
In my experience, hard work can be a foundation for success but it’s not usually enough on its own. As a creative you need to become comfortable making yourself visible to attract opportunities. It can feel counter-intuitive because women are often taught from early on to be modest or not to speak up. But those patterns can be overcome with practice – being seen and heard is important because your ideas matter. The more you do it, the easier it becomes!
I’m lucky to be surrounded by female role models at National Trust. I see strong, intelligent and creative women in specialist and leadership roles across the organisation; it’s inspiring to work alongside women succeeding in careers that they love and making real change. I’m a strong believer in the power of building connections between women and sharing our wisdom and insight. Outside of the Trust, my most recent role model has been Lauren Currie, who runs Upfront BOND confidence courses for women. I was lucky enough to take part in her Charity Bond last year and I follow her online for all things confidence and female power.
For anyone starting out in their design career I’d say find someone you see as a role model, reach out to them and try and understand their journey. Mentoring is a great opportunity; if you can find someone to mentor you, go for it! I’ve been a mentor in the past and it was rewarding to share my experience with someone getting started on their journey. Role models are important no matter what stage of your career you’ve reached – seeking out inspiration and different perspectives helps me to keep developing as a designer. Creativity is a continuous process.
If you’re inspired by the stories and wisdom shared in our ‘Women In Design’ series and would like to contribute your own experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Creatives at all levels, please email us and your story could be the next we feature.
Join MotherBoard in partnership with Bristol based law firm Burges Salmon for an exclusive event designed to support early-stage female-founded start-ups. This session will provide invaluable insights from industry experts on key areas that can help your business thrive, avoid common pitfalls, and set a strong foundation for growth.
What to Expect
This event will feature expert-led interactive breakout sessions. Topics include:
Employment & Incentives – Building the right team and structuring incentives for success.
IP & Brand – Protecting your ideas and strengthening your brand.
Fundraising – What you need to know for raising investment.
Culture & Growth – Scaling your business while building an authentic culture.
Tech & Data – building your tech stack, contracting with software providers and navigating the data protection legislation.
After the breakout sessions, enjoy networking over drinks and nibbles, where you’ll have the opportunity to connect with other female founders at a similar stage and quiz the Burges Salmon team on any legal questions. This is a chance to share experiences, gain new perspectives, and build your support network in a welcoming and collaborative space.
Who the event is for
Female founders at idea, pre-seed or seed stage.
The details
Location: Burges Salmon, One Glass Wharf, Bristol, BS2 0ZX
Date & Time: 11th March 5-7pm
RSVP via the meetup link
Spaces are limited, secure your spot today!
Any personal data collected before or during the event will be shared between the joint hosts, MotherBoard and Burges Salmon LLP, for the purposes of pre- and post-event administration and communications with you. Each organisations’ privacy policies may be viewed here: MotherBoard and Burges Salmon.Manage Cookies
This article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
I’m a brand identity designer and founder of Design Bench Studio, a creative practice based in South London. My background is in graphic design. I currently focus on working with local communities, tech-for-good entrepreneurs, and social change businesses.
We help clients define their voice and visual identity and work with the them at the very start of their ventures or business ideas. The “bench” in the studio name reflects the horizontal and open design approach, which has helped us build meaningful partnerships and create work that is purpose-first. Our studio values are designed to mirror the values of the people we work with.
Anyone working in design will have unique contributions to bring into our industry. It would be hard to define this according to gender alone without looking into cultural norms, access to education and resources. As in many industries where there is still a gender pay gap we will need to address a few issues before we can quantify fair contributions.
In terms of perspective, women will certainly have their lived experience lens to add to the industry, and this will be the same for people who identify as women and non-binary people. From my experience with working with all-women teams in design I have seen a more intentional focus on inclusivity and empathy across creative outputs as well as in the ways of working and workplace culture. I have felt more supported and influenced to grow mindfully in all-female teams.
It’s also worth asking—what unique perspectives do men bring? That’s not a question I hear answered a lot by men in design.
Start before you feel ready. Waiting for the “perfect” moment can hold you back, and the truth is, you’ll learn more by doing—even if it’s messy. Mistakes are inevitable, but they’re also where the best lessons happen. You’ll grow more from an imperfect starting point, as long as you adapt and learn along the way, correcting and owning your mistakes. A little embarrassment goes a long way.
The biggest challenge has been tackling my own self-doubt and limiting beliefs—questions like, “Do I deserve to be here?” or “Have I done enough to prove my worth?”. This is, in part, the female experience overall in the work environment, I feel.
I have (somewhat) overcome this with support form a coach and by learning to ask for what I really want from a workplace. Building confidence is hard and I believe we all need some external help and support from mentors and peers to face those challenges.
Role models are hugely important – they show us what’s possible and that success can take many forms. Seeing women lead authentically in the creative industry has been so inspiring and was a big reason for starting the ffsc.club. The club is structured around soft networking events and story-sharing for women in the creative industries.
Role models can help us draw strength from their stories in order to carve out your own path.
Ana is the founder behind Female Founders Sharing Circle, an open-source directory and initiative designed for knowledge exchange between female founders in the creative industries and beyond.
Their next ‘soft networking’ event is scheduled for 20th of March in the CIC space at the Bussey Building, Peckham for a 7PM start.
Check out the event and community here.
If you’re inspired by the stories and wisdom shared in our ‘Women In Design’ series and would like to contribute your own experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Creatives at all levels, please email us and your story could be the next we feature.
You need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationNotifications