Inclusive by Design: How to Bake Accessibility and Belonging into Every Event From Day One
Inclusion isn’t something you tack on at the end of planning, it’s something you build on from the start.
I’ve worked on events where accessibility was treated like an optional add-on. Someone remembered to request captioning the night before (or 2 minutes in, once an attendee commented in the Zoom). Someone else scrambled to make room for a mobility device that had nowhere to go. The intent was there, but the impact? Not so much.
It’s so much easier to do it better!
When you embed inclusion into the first draft of your event plan, just like budget or branding, you create something more powerful than just a great event. You create an experience where everyone feels welcome, respected, and able to participate fully.
Here’s how to make that happen.
1. Start With the Guests, Not the Venue
Before you even choose a space, ask: Who’s attending? What do they need to fully engage?
That might mean ASL interpreters, quiet spaces for neurodiverse participants, gender-neutral bathrooms, non-alcoholic drink options or kosher options (did you know there’s more than one kind of kosher?). When you plan with diverse needs in mind from day one, your final product isn’t just inclusive- it’s seamless.
Practical tip: Include a thorough area of guests needs in your registration. Analyze for trends (a great use for AI to help!) to make larger changes (catering is a big one), and what you need to ask about in site visits or AV dry runs.
In practice: You notice there’s a large community of vegans/vegetarians attending a particular event. Instead of adding one vegan option for all of them, you change your lunch catering to be “add a protein” - a base option (risotto, power-packed salad, stir fry) and then attendees can choose their protein to add on after. This levels the experience for all attendees and gives this veg population equality and inclusion in their experience.
2. Build Accessibility Into the Budget
Inclusion isn’t a line item to squeeze in at the end. It should be built into your baseline costs, just like catering or AV. Ask your vendors what’s included (like labeling food with dietaries or live captioning on Zooms), and what would need to be an add-on. Ask early in the process so you can adjust your budget to reflect the real needs of your group.
Practical tip: Check out this Accessibility Checklist to see what you might want to consider.
In practice: Your event includes a large keynote from an Executive to the entire group. Live captioning doesn’t just benefit those with auditory needs, it can help those with neurodivergent needs as well, especially if it’s in a large room with many possible distractions.
3. Make Your Agenda Human
The best ~five years has raised neurodivergence awareness 300x. We all know not everyone thrives in a packed schedule with back-to-back panels. Design your schedule with breaks, movement, and reflection in mind. Mix up your formats: offer hands-on sessions, casual networking zones, and virtual alternatives. Inclusion isn’t one-size-fits-all.
Practical tip: Don’t only think about the agenda, but the space. Let’s say you give people ⅓ downtime each day… where are they going to decompress or actually get down time? Make sure you’re creating quieter spaces for people to recharge if needed.
In practice: Block a meeting room (space for 10+) as the “quiet room” during a conference. No talking. Play lofi, offer soft seating in addition to a desk to work from. Make it a space people can use to escape and decompress.
Also: Give people more than 30 minutes to go back to their hotels to change for a dinner or evening event. Let them lay on the bed, decompress and freshen up (without rushing it!) before shipping them off to the next thing. End sessions earlier rather than making them wait later for dinner.
4. Communicate Clearly, and Often
From your registration page to your post-event survey, your language matters. Use inclusive terms, list available accommodations up front, and invite attendees to share needs early.
Practical tip: Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them. (i.e: Set expectations. Meet expectations. Remind them of those expectations.)
In practice: Your first communication should be a list of dates and deadlines they can expect to receive information by. Each communication should be on time and available in a single source of truth (like a website) so people don’t need to scour their inboxes to find information. And finally, follow up emails for any registration with a FULL account of their selections and information (in case they need to refer back) with next steps!
5. Ask, Listen, Adapt
The most inclusive events are those shaped by feedback. Create safe, anonymous ways for attendees to tell you what worked, and what didn’t. And be ready to act on what you learn.
Practical tip: Work with a Data Analytics team to create a feedback survey that will give you the feedback and data you need to drive success. Poorly constructed surveys lead to feedback-dumps that are hard to sift through and often aimless in their criticisms.
In practice: Several nursing mothers at your event struggled to find private, clean spaces to nurse or pump, and had no way to store milk without lugging coolers around all day. Put yourself in their shoes—imagine trying to enjoy an event while constantly worrying about these basic needs.
Next year's fix: Add "Do you need nursing support/information?" to your registration form and create a dedicated communication channel for these attendees. Provide milk shipment vouchers, ensure mother rooms are clean and well-lit (bonus points for snacks!), and add this information prominently on your website.
Why This Matters (Especially Right Now)
Inclusion isn’t just a value, it’s a business imperative. The most successful events and company cultures are the ones where everyone can contribute, connect, and be seen.
As someone with 15+ years in corporate event strategy and culture design, I’ve seen the difference inclusive planning can make. I’m currently exploring full-time opportunities with teams that value thoughtful, human-centered experiences in the event, employee experience, or inclusion space.
If that sounds like your organization- let’s connect.