Every May, Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) gets people talking about something that should always be part of the conversation: inclusion. This year’s event, held on Thursday, May 15, did exactly that — and more.
GAAD 2025 wasn’t just a one-day reminder. It kicked off real momentum. It pushed businesses, educators, and technologists to ask harder questions and take more meaningful action. And while it’s great to see progress during events like this, the real value is what happens afterward.
So let’s talk about what made this year’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day different — and why it still matters now.
A Quick Look Back at Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2025
The idea behind GAAD is simple: get more people to start thinking (and talking) about accessibility. Especially digital accessibility — websites, apps, devices, and tools that are often built without disabled users in mind.
Started in 2012, the event has grown into a global movement. Each year, more companies host events, do audits, and bring in lived experience to shape more inclusive products and services.
In 2025, two major announcements took the spotlight — one from a global tech leader and one from a national education system that’s thinking ahead.
What Made 2025’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day So Impactful
Two standout announcements during Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2025 came from Apple and India.
Apple Raised the Bar Again
IJust ahead of the event, Apple dropped a bundle of new accessibility features that show what’s possible when inclusive design is part of the roadmap from the beginning.
Some standout features:
- An All-New Magnifier for Mac with customized views, users can adjust brightness, contrast, color filters, and even perspective to make text and images easier to see.
- Accessibility Nutrition Labels bring a new section to App Store product pages that will highlight accessibility features within apps and games.
- Braille Access is an all-new experience that turns iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro into a full-featured braille note taker.
- Accessibility Reader is a new systemwide reading mode designed to make text easier to read for users with a wide range of disabilities, such as dyslexia or low vision.
- Updates to CarPlay, Apple Watch, and VisionOS that expand usability for people with vision and mobility disabilities and more…
These aren’t just technical wins — they’re real quality-of-life improvements. Read about all the new accessibility features here.
This is what meaningful accessibility looks like: not an add-on, but a part of the product’s DNA.
India’s Bold Step: Accessibility in Education
One of the most exciting updates from GAAD 2025 didn’t come from a tech company. It came from India’s government.
They announced that digital accessibility will now be taught as part of undergraduate computer science and design programs across the country. The goal is to make accessibility a core concept for the next generation of developers and designers — not something they learn about later or bolt on after launch.
This is huge.
It means that future software, apps, tools, and services coming out of one of the world’s largest tech-producing nations will be shaped by people who understand inclusion from the start. More countries should follow their lead.
The Work Doesn’t Stop After GAAD
Even though Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2025 has passed, that doesn’t mean the work is over. It just means we don’t have to wait for a special day to care about inclusion.
Here are a few ways you can keep pushing forward:
1. Review Your Website or App
Run it through a free tool like WAVE or Axe and fix one thing today — like color contrast, missing labels, or keyboard navigation.
2. Start Talking Internally
Whether you’re on a product team or in HR, bring up accessibility. Ask how your company includes disabled users in testing or research. It doesn’t need to be a big initiative to start a real conversation.
3. Share What You Learn
If you saw something great during GAAD 2025 — a new tool, a powerful video, or a personal story — share it with your coworkers or on social. These conversations help normalize inclusion.
4. Follow People with Lived Experience
If you’re not already following creators with disabilities, start there. They’ll show you what works, what doesn’t, and what real inclusion looks like in everyday life.
My Take
I’ve spent my life adapting to a world that often forgets people like me exist. That’s why I talk about this. It’s why I share my story. And it’s why my son and I started Equal Accessibility — to help businesses stop guessing and start including.
GAAD 2025 reminded us that progress is possible. But it also showed us how much work there is left to do.
Whether you’re a developer, a manager, or just someone who wants to do better, the question is the same:
What are you doing today that makes your space more accessible tomorrow?
Want to Do More Than Just Check a Box?
If your team is ready to go beyond ADA basics and start designing experiences that truly include everyone, that’s where we come in.
At Equal Accessibility, we help businesses make practical, lasting changes — not just in their websites, but in how they show up for every customer.
Contact us today, we’d love to help!
