People of EDC - Wendy Cox

Welcome to People of EDC, a series dedicated to celebrating the diverse experiences of our workforce by getting to know them on a more personal level. This week’s article features Wendy Cox, Senior Advisor, People & Culture and EDC’s Accessibility Lead.?

When Wendy first joined EDC in 2020, she didn’t expect that she would be leading the accessibility portfolio. She was originally hired as a part of the Sales Enablement group and eventually transitioned to the former Office of the CBO as a Business Partner. It was through her business partner role, that she was able to take on leading EDC’s accessibility initiatives.

As a part of its corporate strategy, EDC has committed to creating accessible, inclusive, and equal experiences for its customers, its employees, and Canadians. EDC has outlined actions over the next three years to prevent or remove barriers to accessibility for all, specifically people with disabilities, to support the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) goal of a barrier-free Canada by 2040.

“It’s been an interesting journey so far. This is new to many of us. It has really forced me to reflect and confront some of my own biases”, says Wendy. “It's also made me look at the world a little differently”.

When going about your day as someone without a disability, it’s easy to take simple improvements for granted. For example, the text for this story can been enlarged to make it easier for those with low vision to access the page.

Wendy believes that as important as it is to make everyday life accessible for those with visible disabilities, it’s just as important to put the same effort towards helping people with invisible disabilities. “The more you learn about invisible disabilities, the more you begin to appreciate how much strength it takes just to show up some days”, says Wendy. Invisible disabilities can include dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, diabetes, chronic pain and episodic disabilities like diabetes, where some days are better than others.

Every day, our team is working to not only make our office spaces as accessible as possible, but also our digital tools that are accessed by both employees and customers. “Digital accessibility is so important in providing independence for those with disabilities,” says Wendy. ?“I’d love to facilitate having more colleagues with disabilities, which just can’t be done without improving our systems and processes”.

As EDC’s accessibility lead, Wendy wants to make one thing clear: She can’t make EDC more accessible and inclusive alone.

It takes input from the community as well as the passion from employees to make EDC more accessible for customers and for each other.

If you have any feedback regarding the accessibility of EDC’s services, programs, or products, you can find ways to share that feedback on EDC’s Accessibility page . Your feedback can be shared anonymously and can help us plan, strategize and execute our vision of becoming barrier-free by 2040.