The term "a11y" is a numeronym that stands for accessibility; it is abbreviated to be a11y is because there are eleven letters between the first and the last letter. One of the reasons why it is abbreviated is that it is easy to spell accessibility incorrectly, especially for people with learning disability such as Dyslexia and ADHD. Also, social media platforms such as Twitter limits character counts, so #a11y is what people use for hash tagging.

What Does A11Y Mean?

You might be wondering what A11Y means as it’s part of our domain name. Another question you may have is how to pronounce it. We answer both questions in this article, as well as why our website is named Accessibility Worx.

A11Y Means Accessibility

The term “a11y” is a numeronym for accessibility; it is abbreviated to be a11y because there are eleven letters between the first and the last letter. One of the reasons it is abbreviated is that it is easy to misspell accessibility, especially for people with a learning disability such as Dyslexia and ADHD. Also, social media platforms such as Twitter limit character counts, so #a11y is what people use for hashtagging.

Woman playing with a fidget spinner. — There are different forms of disabilities. Not all are physical. For example, the woman in the picture may have ADHD and is using a fidget spinner to cope, but one can’t tell by looking at her.

There are concerns about the abbreviation itself not being accessible because screen readers can’t properly pronounce it. However, chances are people that rely on screen readers know what A11Y stands for.

How to Pronounce A11Y?

A11y is often pronounced A-one-one-Y, A-eleven-Y, and sometimes ALLY. Of course, you can always pronounce it “accessibility.” This is also why our website is called Accessibility Worx so that it is screen reader-friendly.

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility is about making things accessible for people with disabilities, which comes in different forms. In the context of web design, it is to ensure that a website can be accessed, consumed, and operated by someone that may rely on only a keyboard or a screen reader. On the other hand, in the employment context, it is to ensure that an employee has access to workplace accommodations that suit his or her special needs, from wheelchair ramps, adapted washrooms to allowing working from home.

A visually impaired person using a braille display. — People with disabilities may not be able to interact with computers the same way people without disabilities do. For example, the person in the picture uses a braille display to consume the information on a computer.

This is exactly why we built this website to lower the barrier for job seekers with disabilities and connect them with employers that are willing to give them the opportunities they deserve.