BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE:   DAILY BRIEFING
May 5, 1999

   It's a World Wide Web of Opportunity
   That's the message from John Lancaster, a paralyzed vet and
   Presidential adviser
   John Lancaster knows a thing or two about disability issues. Paralyzed
   from the waist down (he was shot in the back during the Vietnam War),
   he has worked as a litigator for many disability groups, including the
   Paralyzed Veterans of America. We worked together at the American
   Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Washington almost two
   decades ago.
   Today, he's the executive director of the President's Committee on
   Employment of People with Disabilities (PCEPD). And he has a new
   message: Access to the World Wide Web will give the disabled more
   power to buy goods and services, and help business tap a new job pool.
   Chatting recently in his wheelchair, he lists reasons why disabled
   people must participate in the Information Age revolution by having
   access to the Web. "First, the country must recognize that businesses
   are becoming more electronic, and as a result electronic commerce is
   spiraling. Second, the economy is changing to an information
   technology base thus creating a shortage of workers -- and
   opportunities for disabled people. Third, people with disabilities are
   among the largest unemployed populations in the country. Lastly,
   disabled people are consumers."
   IMPRESSIVE STATS. As businesses build Web sites to sell their goods
   and services to consumers, they are making it easier to transact
   business with their suppliers and distributors. Some industry
   estimates show E-commerce spending set to quadruple from about $12
   billion in 1998 to $44 billion worldwide by 2002. And E-commerce gives
   consumers the convenience of shopping 24 hours daily. Lancaster has
   dozens of statistics like that right at his fingertips: "50% of the
   households in the country that have Internet access will make
   purchases online by the end of this year," is another he throws out.
   He cites a report released last year by the U.S. Commerce Dept. titled
   The Emerging Digital Economy. It concludes that information technology
   (IT) industries are growing at more than double the rate of the
   overall economy.
   Already, IT represents 8.2% of U.S. gross domestic product and has
   driven on average 25% of real economic growth over each of the last
   five years, according to the Commerce report. Traffic on the Internet
   doubles every 100 days -- and the overwhelming bulk of it is
   business-related.
   Of profound importance to the national economic health is the shortage
   of workers in the IT sector and in digital technologies. "Business
   leaders are running out of qualified people, particularly in the
   high-tech industries, with the labor shortage likely to become tighter
   in the next 15 years. And computer-related jobs are among the fastest
   growing job occupations in the world," Lancaster says. More than
   345,000 computer programmer and systems analyst jobs are vacant in
   U.S. companies with more than 100 employees, according to the
   Information Technology Association of America.
   FALLING BARRIERS. IT-related jobs pay very well, too. These workers on
   average earn almost $46,000 per year compared to an average of $28,000
   for the private sector as a whole. And the ITA estimates that demand
   is expected to grow from 874,00 jobs in 1996 to 1.8 million by 2006.
   "A positive result from this labor shortage is barriers of
   discrimination are beginning to fall, and businesses are hiring
   disabled people," Lancaster says.
   U.S. Census Bureau data released in 1996 shows there were 29.4 million
   working-age Americans with disabilities in the 21- to 64-year-old age
   group. Of this number, 15.4 million were employed (52%), and more than
   14 million (48%) were unemployed. About 79% of the 14.2 million people
   with severe disabilities are jobless, Census says.
   Unemployment is highest among African Americans and Hispanics with
   disabilities. Census says 72.2% of African Americans with disabilities
   and nearly 52% of Hispanics with disabilities aren't working. "These
   figures are abominable," says Lancaster.
   The disabled offer more than just an underused job pool in cyberspace.
   Lancaster encourages businesses to also look at the large untapped
   customer base in the disability market. "At 20% of the population,
   people with disabilities comprise the nation's largest minority
   group," says Lancaster. There are significant opportunities to the
   business community here in strategic marketing.
   FLASHY, BUT USELESS. Statistics gathered by the PCEPD show that
   disabled people have $175 billion in discretionary income, and more
   than 20.3 million people in the country have at least one family
   member with a disability. Access to the Internet presents significant
   opportunities to people with disabilities (see Assistive Technology,
   4/21/99, "Online School: A Boon for Disabled Students -- and
   Teachers").
   Unfortunately, Web developers often focus on creating flashy,
   eye-catching graphics that are inaccessible or hard to use by Web
   users with disabilities, particularly people with eye strain,
   blindness, low vision, or color blindness.
   With more people using the Web at home, and with the numbers of
   disabled people rising as the population ages, it makes good business
   sense for companies to address Web accessibility issues so that
   disabled people have an avenue to online products and services.
   Otherwise, companies "will lose these customers," Lancaster argues.
   "Employers can lead and ensure that any Web sites they develop are
   accessible to disabled people."
   Williams writes frequently for BW Online on assistive technology
   products and issues. For questions on assistive technology write to
   [log in to unmask]
   Editors Note: Many E-mails to Williams have asked him to define
   assistive technology terms. John responds: "One of the most frequently
   asked questions is, "What are assistive technology devices?" The
   Technology Related Assistance Act (Public Law 100-147) defines
   assistive technology devices as "Any item, piece of equipment or
   product system, whether acquired commercially or off the shelf,
   modified or customized that increases, maintains or improves
   functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities."

   EDITED BY DOUGLAS HARBRECHT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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