Being digitally connected isn’t a luxury; it’s a lifeline.
Everything from education to healthcare, banking, shopping, and government services is online, but millions of people are still being left behind.
Digital inclusion means making sure that everyone, regardless of income, location, age, ability, or literacy, can access and use digital technologies effectively.
It’s about equity. It’s about empowerment. And in 2025, it’s more urgent than ever.
According to the World Bank, nearly 3 billion people still don’t use the internet. Even among those who do, many face barriers due to inaccessible interfaces, lack of digital skills, or unreliable infrastructure.
The result? A growing digital divide that mirrors – and often magnifies – existing social and economic inequalities.
Digital exclusion doesn’t just affect individuals. It limits participation in democracy, reduces workforce potential, and creates reputational and legal risks for organizations. As businesses and institutions digitize rapidly, they must make sure that progress doesn’t leave people behind.
Fortunately, digital inclusion isn’t an abstract ideal – it’s something we can build through thoughtful design, policy, and technology. And web accessibility plays a foundational role in making it possible.
This article will explore the key pillars of digital inclusion, the barriers people face, and what governments, businesses, and digital teams can do to promote a truly inclusive digital future.
Despite growing awareness, digital inclusion remains out of reach for many. That’s because the barriers to full participation are not just technical – they’re social, economic, physical, and cultural.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common and persistent obstacles:
Solving digital inclusion requires addressing these barriers holistically, not just with tech, but through policy, education, design, and empathy.
Digital inclusion and accessibility are deeply interconnected, but they’re not interchangeable.
While digital inclusion is the broader concept of ensuring equitable participation in the digital world, accessibility focuses specifically on removing barriers for people with disabilities. It’s a crucial pillar of digital inclusion – and often the first step toward achieving it.
According to the World Health Organization, over 1.3 billion people worldwide live with a disability. That’s nearly 1 in 6 of us.
If digital platforms aren’t accessible, vast segments of the population are immediately excluded from essential services and opportunities.
Inaccessible websites, mobile apps, and documents can prevent users from:
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide a framework for designing inclusive digital experiences.
Their principles – Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR) – are used globally as a benchmark for accessibility compliance.
By addressing accessibility, organizations automatically improve usability for all. Clear navigation, descriptive links, flexible layouts, and readable fonts benefit everyone – not just disabled users.
In other words, you can’t have digital inclusion without accessibility. It’s the baseline for building digital experiences that respect and reflect human diversity.
Tackling digital exclusion is not the responsibility of one group alone. It takes collaboration between governments, non-profits, businesses, educators, and technologists to create an inclusive digital society.
Here’s how different sectors are making progress:
Many countries have launched national digital inclusion strategies focused on expanding access, improving digital skills, and ensuring accessibility. For example:
Forward-thinking companies are embedding digital inclusion into their products and services by:
Organizations like the Digital Equity Foundation, AbilityNet, and Good Things Foundation play a key role in:
Ultimately, digital inclusion is a shared responsibility. Governments can create the regulatory foundation, but lasting change requires public-private cooperation and user-centered design.
Digital inclusion is not a one-time initiative; it’s a mindset embedded in design, delivery, and communication. The following best practices help ensure that your digital products and services are usable and beneficial to everyone.
Embed accessibility and inclusive design principles into your development lifecycle rather than retrofitting later. Use semantic HTML, provide alt text, ensure keyboard navigability, and maintain strong color contrast.
Use plain language, intuitive layouts, and clear CTAs. Avoid jargon. A well-structured interface helps everyone, especially users with cognitive disabilities, low literacy, or language barriers.
Involve people from different backgrounds, age groups, and ability levels in user testing. Their feedback reveals friction points that homogenous testing often misses.
Offer alternatives: text transcripts for audio, video captions, and downloadable documents in accessible formats. This makes sure users can engage in the way that works best for them.
Consider how you can provide or link to training and onboarding materials, especially for tools that may be new to your audience. A friendly FAQ or step-by-step guide can make a big difference.
Use accessibility testing tools and perform regular reviews to make sure your content stays inclusive as your product evolves.
By embracing these best practices, you build trust, loyalty, and compliance.
Assistive technology (AT) plays a vital role in closing the digital divide for people with disabilities. By enabling access to digital content and services, these tools make inclusion not just possible, but practical.
Assistive technology includes devices, software, and tools that help people with disabilities perform tasks they might otherwise find difficult or impossible. In the digital world, this can range from simple screen magnifiers to advanced speech-to-text systems.
Assistive technology empowers independence and participation in:
When websites and digital tools are designed to work with assistive technology, everyone benefits.
Access to digital tools and content is essential for learning, professional development, and career participation. However, digital exclusion continues to create inequality in both education and employment.
Digital education platforms are now standard in all settings, from K-12 classrooms to higher education and remote learning environments. But without inclusive design, these tools can unintentionally exclude students with disabilities or those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Common barriers include:
Solutions:
Inclusion in education correlates with long-term academic success and employment outcomes, so it goes beyond ethics.
Many jobs now rely on digital platforms, from recruitment and onboarding to daily collaboration and upskilling. Yet employees with disabilities often encounter inaccessible systems that hinder productivity and advancement.
Examples:
Best practices:
Digital inclusion in the workplace is about unlocking the full potential of a diverse workforce and attracting talent from all backgrounds.
Businesses have a powerful role to play in shaping a digital world that works for everyone. Beyond compliance, digital inclusion is a strategic advantage – it opens access to broader markets, improves user experience, and strengthens brand trust.
Here are key ways your organization can contribute:
Conduct a comprehensive accessibility audit across your websites, apps, and internal platforms. Identify barriers that could exclude users with disabilities, older adults, or individuals with limited digital literacy.
Make inclusive design principles a default. Involve users with diverse needs during product research and usability testing. Use accessible fonts, meaningful link text, flexible layouts, and semantic code from the start.
Invest in ongoing training for developers, content creators, and marketers on accessibility best practices and the importance of inclusive UX. Make this part of your DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) strategy.
Ensure your services work smoothly with screen readers, voice navigation tools, and keyboard-only browsing. Test with multiple devices and software types.
Work with organizations that promote digital inclusion – whether through sponsorships, open-source contributions, or employee volunteering. Use your reach to amplify awareness and action.
Laws like the European Accessibility Act and ADA offer clear benchmarks, but true inclusion goes beyond checklists – so aim to meet user needs, not just legal minimums.
Digital inclusion is more than a policy or best practice; it’s a reflection of how we value equity, participation, and human potential in an increasingly digital world.
By removing barriers, embracing inclusive design, supporting assistive technologies, and widening access to digital tools, we unlock opportunities for millions of people. It’s good for society, good for business, and essential for long-term growth.
Whether you’re designing a website, building a platform, shaping policy, or leading a team, your role matters. Inclusion isn’t the responsibility of one department or one decision, it’s a commitment embedded across every touchpoint of the digital experience.
Explore how iubenda’s Accessibility Solution can support your digital inclusion goals by helping you meet key accessibility standards and deliver more inclusive experiences from the start.