The study, conducted by Samsung UK and OnePoll, surveyed 1,000 UK adults with invisible and visible disabilities and reveals that over two-thirds (68%) have felt excluded from products or services due to accessibility issues.

Over half of the respondents (55%) don’t believe mainstream brands are invested enough in making products that cater to individual needs, while ​54% don’t think companies have an understanding of which accessibility features are important for consumers with disabilities.

Brands are missing a trick here, as the spending power of disabled people and their households – known as the purple pound – is estimated to be worth a staggering £274 billion a year^[1].

80% claim major national and international brands could be missing out on millions by not thinking about inclusive design for consumers with disabilities. It also emerged that 72% of consumers surveyed have abandoned a purchase due to a product’s lack of accessibility. On the other hand, over half (56%) are willing to pay more if they find a fully accessible product.

Greater accessibility also opens the door to loyal customers, as three quarters (76%) of consumers admit they would stay loyal to companies who offer a good range of accessible options.

Katharina Mayer, Head of LifeStyle Lab Europe, at Samsung said: “This research has highlighted the huge opportunity for brands to better understand the accessibility needs of consumers to provide greater access for people with disabilities in the UK. It is an absolute necessity for companies to test their ideas with diverse people with different needs. When designers consider varied needs from the beginning, they don’t just benefit people with disabilities – they create solutions that serve everyone and that is the approach we aim to take to inclusive design at Samsung. This is a foundation of good design that led to our enhanced design principles, which we developed in Project INKlusion”.

Project INKlusion was created by Samsung as a collaborative project aimed at enhancing inclusive design. Samsung spoke with design leaders and over five hundred members of Samsung’s Global Employee Resource Groups to understand the challenges within current products and solutions and find creative ways to address them together with leading design experts. The four DEI design principles and practice include:

1. Stay Curious – create joy through play, learning and growing
2. Challenge Assumptions – deconstruct the ‘normal’, solve problems not people
3. Celebrate Diversity – amplify diverse stories; represent real life
4. Be the Change – create with, not for; expand beyond the individual

But there’s still work to be done. When it comes to online shopping, 80% struggle with websites that are not optimised for accessibility. Issues include, poorly designed checkout process (30%), lack of text descriptions for images (22%) and inaccessible website navigation (20%).

Consumers also identified the most challenging everyday experiences due to poor accessibility as retail store layouts (24%), followed by food packaging (22%) and clothing (21%).

Promisingly, technology is paving the way for accessible design. The top tech innovations for people with a disability were named as virtual assistants, smart home devices and wearable devices for health monitoring.

Samsung is committed to advancing accessibility in technology, from ensuring all mobile and TV screens have accessible voice and caption tools. Our wearables have vision accessibility features for those who find screen size challenging, and our Galaxy Ring passively tracks body metrics.  Alongside this, hearing enhancements, voice feedback and Braille labels exist across Samsung’s range of smart appliances.

Ben Evans, Director of London Design Festival said: “Accessibility in design is not just a feature; it’s an essential foundation for a truly inclusive world. At London Design Festival, we believe that great design serves everyone, regardless of ability, background, or circumstance. Design should be a bridge that connects people, not a barrier. It’s clear from Samsung’s research, that there is still work to be done, and we must continue to showcase a wide breadth of spaces, products, and systems that promote inclusive design and encourage innovation and creativity”.

Amy Francis-Smith RIBA, Architect & Accessible Design Specialist said “The tech sector has long been a pioneer in empowering disabled individuals and creating transformative innovations that simplify life for us all – like voice recognition software, electric toothbrushes and keyboards. Yet, with over half of consumers questioning mainstream brands’ commitment to accessibility, advocates like Samsung championing this cause are more vital than ever. By prioritising inclusivity through empathetic design and considerate practices, we can set a new standard that fosters a more inclusive tech industry—and a more accessible society—for everyone.”

To learn more about Samsung’s accessibility features, please visit: www.samsung.com/uk/sustainability/accessibility

[1] https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5804/cmselect/cmwomeq/605/report.html#:~:text=6.,choice%20available%20to%20disabled%20consumers

LONDON, UK – 8th February 2024 – Samsung Electronics Co., (UK) Ltd. research today reveals the extent to which adults from diverse ethnic communities experience bias in social or workplace settings, simply because of their name. Spotlighting an underbelly of prejudice in the UK, which is fuelling ‘name bias’, nearly half (48%) of 500 minority respondents felt they’d been treated differently based on their name.

The study, conducted by Samsung UK & Ireland and OnePoll, surveyed a diverse sample of 2,000 white and minority UK adults. Some of the most frequent misconceptions made about the names of those from diverse ethnic backgrounds are related to where they’re from (39%), their cultural heritage (31%), and a false assumption that English isn’t their first language (27%).

These misconceptions highlight the fact biases exist in many different forms, and unless we awaken the nation’s consciousness to the impact of these prejudices on individuals, minority ethnic communities will continue to feel marginalised and misunderstood.

The research also showed that over a quarter (26%) of minority respondents have been asked to repeat their name multiple times when meeting someone for the first time, with 16% being asked if it’s their ‘real’ or ‘full’ name. And if that wasn’t bad enough, 14% of minority respondents said people have avoided saying their name altogether – that’s compared to only 2% of white survey respondents, a seven-fold increase.

Jessie Soohyun Park, Head of CSR at Samsung UK said: “We know biases exist all around us – whether it’s gender, disability, race or culture. But with this study, we wanted to go one layer deeper to understand the impact that our names can have on how people perceive us. We know that people can sometimes feel judged or misunderstood with their names. While many Koreans adopt an English name when studying or working outside of Korea, what’s important is that we celebrate the coming together of different cultures and values that we share and experience every day.”

When looking at the workplace, name bias was also evident. What’s most alarming is that nearly a quarter (24%) of all respondents have witnessed others on the receiving end of discrimination in the workplace because of their name; and more than one in 10 (12%) minority respondents have felt the need to use different names in job applications or interviews. The study also found that 16% said having or using a ‘western-sounding’ name has benefited them; this is felt most acutely by those from Arab descent (21%), followed by the Black community (19%).

Professor Pragya Agarwal, a behavioural and data scientist, Visiting Professor of Social Inequities and Injustice at Loughborough University, and author of ‘SWAY: Unravelling Unconscious Bias’, said: “Names, much like our gender or racial identity, can be first triggers for stereotypes and assumptions about people, sending signals about who we are and where we come from. It is laziness, yes, but people very easily fall back on these assumptions. In my research and consultancy, I have seen how name discrimination is very widely spread during hiring and recruitment to career progression and leadership opportunities in the workplace.

“Such discrimination is often rooted in our implicit cognitive biases, but that does not mean that the impact is any less harmful. For many of us, names signify our cultural heritage, our histories, and our family values. It is important that organisations and workplaces do more to see people as individuals, and names are an integral part of people’s identity. Addressing name-based microaggressions, and its intersectional impacts’ is an important step towards creating a culture of belonging and respect for everyone.”      

“Embracing cultural difference and the value that different perspectives can bring, is intrinsic to building a positive, inclusive society that ultimately brings people together. I believe that names are not just labels to identify us, but important emblems that carry stories of heritage and identity. Let’s build a culture where no one feels judged or silenced by the syllables that shape their identity,” added Jessie Soohyun Park, Head of CSR at Samsung UK.

To address this, over a fifth (22%) believe promotion of correct name pronunciation and understanding of cultural significance will help to reduce name bias in the workplace. 19% would even like to see anonymous job applications where names are removed from CVs to help alleviate prejudice.

To coincide with the research, Samsung UK conducted a social experiment ‘The Fine Line’ where six people were asked their views on nicknames and name bias in the workplace. You can watch the full video here.

Samsung Pioneers – A platform for change

Samsung Pioneers is Samsung UK’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion platform, designed to champion greater equality in the technology industry. The programme also advocates for lasting change in the company to create a culture of inclusivity and allyship. Some of the commitments to equality at Samsung UK & Ireland include:

• At Samsung we are committed to being an Equal Pay employer – paying by role.
• We have Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) within the UK business that all look to build an inclusive, caring, supportive and engaged community, including Black Professionals at Samsung for black colleagues. We know that allies play a crucial role in understanding issues and implementing positive change which is why all our ERGs are open to and encourage allies to join.
• Becoming a signatory of the Tech Talent Charter, continuing our commitment to address inequality in the UK tech sector and drive inclusivity.
• Mandatory Inclusive Hiring training and Conscious Inclusion training. The Inclusive Hiring training is designed to educate hiring managers on how bias impacts the recruitment process and equips them with tools and tips to mitigate its impact.
• Integrated Textio into our hiring funnel – a system which brings the world’s most advanced language insights into our hiring and employer brand content.