Requirement or Opportunity?
Accessible Career Pages
Author: André Hussock 22. May 2025 Webdesign
Content:
The internet is now the first – and often only – point of access to information, services, and social participation for many people. Whether it's online banking, booking appointments, continuing education, or applying for jobs: digital services shape our daily lives. Yet not everyone can use them equally.
Around one billion people worldwide live with a disability – in Germany alone, more than 7.8 million people have a recognised severe disability. In addition, there are older adults, people with temporary impairments, or chronic conditions. For them, the internet is not only a gateway to opportunity, but often also a barrier: many websites are not designed to be accessible. Missing alternative texts, poor contrast, inaccessible forms, or unclear structures make content difficult or even impossible to use.
But digital accessibility doesn’t mean sacrificing design or functionality – quite the opposite: it represents thoughtful design, inclusive communication, and better usability for everyone. An accessible website takes diverse needs into account and enables people to participate equally, regardless of their individual limitations.
Legal Framework: The Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG)
An additional sense of urgency arises from the Accessibility Strengthening Act (German: Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz – BFSG), which transposes the EU Directive on the European Accessibility Act into German law. Starting 28 June 2025, many private-sector companies will also be required to ensure that their digital services are accessible – including electronic commerce, banking services, online shops, e-commerce platforms, and passenger transport services.
Although career websites and application forms are not currently directly covered by the BFSG, the law prompts many companies to critically review their entire digital presence – especially where barriers limit access to opportunities. Companies that wish to present themselves as modern and responsible employers should view accessibility in recruiting not merely as a legal option, but as a strategic choice.
The State of Digital Accessibility - A Global Deficit
Digital accessibility on websites remains insufficient worldwide. A study by WebAIM that analysed one million websites found an average of 56.8 errors per page – a significant increase from the previous year. These errors mostly concern basic WCAG 2.2 Level A/AA criteria and have a direct impact on usability for people with disabilities.
Another factor is the growing complexity of modern websites: the average number of elements on homepages increased by 11.8% in just one year. Of these, 4.8% of all analysed elements had at least one accessibility issue. This means that users with disabilities can expect roughly every 21st element to be potentially inaccessible.
Despite legal requirements in many countries – such as EU Directive 2016/2102 for public sector bodies or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the U.S. – practical implementation often falls short. Only around 2% of U.S. websites are considered fully accessible. Europe still faces major accessibility gaps as well.
The most common barriers include:
81% of pages have insufficient colour contrast
54.5% lack alt text for images
48.6% have inadequate form labels
44.6% contain broken or empty links
Many websites are not fully operable via keyboard – a major obstacle for users with motor impairments.
When Digital Accessibility Becomes a Career Barrier
This issue becomes particularly evident in the context of career pages and online applications. Today, anyone looking to change jobs almost always starts digitally – through job portals, company career pages, and online forms. But it is precisely here that new barriers often arise, excluding highly qualified individuals.
Blind or visually impaired users encounter unlabelled buttons or poorly structured form fields. People with motor impairments struggle to navigate a site without using a mouse. And those with cognitive disabilities are quickly discouraged by complex layouts or unclear language.
This is how a career opportunity turns into a barrier. Access to employment participation is denied to many – not because they lack qualifications, but because they are systematically excluded. And often, this exclusion begins with the very first point of contact: the career page.
Accessible Career Pages – A Must for Modern Employers
An inclusive recruitment process begins where potential applicants form their first impression – on the company’s career page. If this page is not accessible, an experience of exclusion occurs right at the orientation stage. This is not just a matter of legal compliance, but of principle: anyone who wants to promote diversity must first create the conditions for it.
And it's not only people with disabilities who benefit from equitable access to the application process – all applicants appreciate clear navigation, understandable content, and a positive user experience. Moreover, accessible application processes contribute directly to key HR objectives: they enhance employer branding, broaden the talent pool, and demonstrate a company’s genuine commitment to inclusion and diversity. Especially in the race for talent, that can be a decisive advantage.
Companies that are serious about inclusion, diversity, and equal opportunity must start here. An accessible career page is more than just a technical standard – it is a strong statement: You are welcome. We see you. We are thinking of you.
This includes:
accessible job postings,
usable application forms,
clear and comprehensible content,
and compatibility with assistive technologies like screen readers and voice output tools.
In short: accessible career pages are not a “nice-to-have” – they are an essential building block for modern, inclusive, and future-ready organisations. Especially in times of skills shortages, demographic change, and rising diversity expectations, no company can afford to exclude people who could make a valuable contribution with their experiences, perspectives, and potential.
Conclusion: To Enable Applications, You Must First Enable Access
Digital accessibility is no longer a niche concern – it’s fast becoming a hallmark of forward-thinking, high-quality organisations. Companies that take a critical look at their recruitment processes and proactively remove digital barriers are making a clear move toward fairness, inclusion, and professionalism.
Even though career pages aren’t yet directly covered by the Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG), the message is unmistakable: digital accessibility is becoming the norm. This is a key moment for companies to lead by example – and to show they’re serious about reaching all talent, regardless of individual abilities.
Accessible career pages do more than ensure legal compliance – they send a strong public signal, enhance employer branding, and make the application experience fairer, more inclusive, and better suited to today’s digital world.
