Groups of up to 15 colleagues joined 90-minute sessions, starting with a presentation about building a common understanding of disability and accessibility. They learned about assistive technology, took part in exercises simulating everyday challenges experienced by those with physical and cognitive disabilities, and explored barriers in the company’s products. Stepstone teamed up with Chatter to make a video showcasing the lab, which itself went beyond basic accessibility requirements.

Within 10 days of launch there were 100 sign ups and more than 150 colleagues attended the workshops across five global locations. More than 400 attended within the first four months, and Stepstone is committed to running labs in more locations thanks to its success. The company is on track to hit growth targets for its employee resource groups and its diversity, equity and inclusion score has remained consistently strong. Employees are now challenging the company to do more about neurodiversity, showing their engagement with accessibility as a topic.