Finance

Accessibility In 2025: Forces, Finance, And The Future

Published

7 months ago

June 17, 2025

Accessibility In 2025: Forces, Finance, And The Future

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After decades of halting advances, the field of Accessibility for people with disabilities has reached not a fork in one road—it’s smack in the middle of a bustling (and often contentious) convergence of many forces from many directions.

There are imperatives from legal and moral to societal and financial. Disabilities physical, sensory and cognitive. Politics and profit. Them, me. All crashing into each other in ways never seen before.

There is little consensus on where accessibility will emerge from all this. But if experts agree on anything, it’s that the business community will play a significant role. Progress will rely on good, old-fashioned entrepreneurship and investment in AI-driven communication devices, exoskeletons, consumer products and much more.

“Accessibility has been an ignored space from investment capital,” says Paul Kent, the managing partner of the Disabled Life Alliance, which connects and facilitates deals between private investors and innovators in the accessibility space. “It’s been thought of as a small market, which is ridiculous. There’s a massive return associated with this. A lot of people believe social impact requires less than market-rate returns. But that’s not true. This is not charity. It’s an investible market.”

Forbes’ inaugural Accessibility 100 list gives a unique look at the industry as it stands today, and where it’s headed. The list features the top innovators and impact-makers—from large companies to lone inventors—in sectors like mobility, communication, sports, entertainment and many more. Some make devices like “smart canes” that can tell blind users where things are, from poles to the Starbucks entrance; while others build playgrounds for disabled children, or provide access from everything to the beach, the ballot box and a career in modeling. Profiles of all 100 appear on pages devoted to those categories; for example, education is here.

Featuring companies and people from 15 countries, the list was compiled through more than 400 conversations with industry insiders over nine months, and with the guidance of an expert advisory board. Disabilities considered include physical, sensory and neurodivergent; types of accessibility include digital (technology, websites and so on), physical (access to public transportation and buildings) and experiences (sports, careers and the like). Emphasis was placed on breadth of impact felt now and expected in the near future. This page details the list’s methodology and advisory board.

Current debates over DEI (often called DEIA, the A for accessibility) often overlook one dynamic: the disabled community is the one minority which anyone of any race, gender, age or financial means can suddenly find themselves thrust into. The head of accessibility at a major communications company, who asked not to be identified given the current political climate, calls accessibility a “casualty of war” over DEI policies—such as when the Trump administration stopped providing sign-language interpretation during broadcasts of press briefings, cutting them off to deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens. (The National Association of the Deaf immediately sued.) Likewise, stricter protections for disabled airline travelers instituted by the previous administraion—such as reimbursement for wheelchair damage and better training for flight personnel to increase safety—have been opposed by the airline industry, which is now seeking to delay, dilute, or remove them altogether.

As such conflicts play out, companies and entrepreneurs currently changing the world of accessibility are, in ways surprisingly new, inviting people with all disabilities into design conversations and testing labs, heeding the community’s mantra, “Nothing about us without us.” Recently, as sign-language robotic hands were hailed by outsiders as possibly replacing expensive interpreters—a certainly worthwhile goal—the enthusiasm has obscured the reality that they didn’t really serve the deaf and hard-of-hearing community yet.

“American Sign Language is 70 percent what we call nonverbal markers—it’s your face, how your body moves, not just hand shapes,” says Kelby Brick, the chief operating officer of the National Federation of the Deaf. Usable innovation in the area, he suspects, would require AI-driven avatars that can convey that nuance.

Not all advancements in accessibility are contentious. Many become universal. Closed captioning—originally designed for the deaf—has grown so ubiquitous that it has became one of many examples of what is now called “the curb-cut effect,” so named after sloped curbs designed for people with disabilities wound up benefitting everyone, like those pushing strollers or pulling suitcases. Other instances include electric toothbrushes, speech-to-text and even bendable straws.

Indeed, the preferred approach for many companies has become “universal design,” where products and services are built from the start to serve everyone, rather than winding up immediately unusable by the disabled or clumsily retrofitted after the fact. Several firms, including Accessibility 100 listmakers Deque and Fable, now produce software that checks computer code as it’s written to ensure that accessibility features work out of the box. OXO, also on the list, is a household name (literally) that designs all of its kitchen products to be easy for everyone, from smooth-turning can openers to tongs that close with one hand.

One distinct feature of accessibility innovation is that companies—even direct competitors—enthusiastically share ideas and advances, even code, to hasten innovation for all. For example, Procter & Gamble invented raised icons that blind and low-vision people can feel to distinguish products like liquid soap, shampoo and laundry detergent from each other; the company is sharing them with others to make them standard. “We’re not just trying to do it alone,” says Sam Latif, P&G’s Company Accessibility Leader. “Doing it on a few products is not as impactful as the industry doing it together.”

Apple operating systems have built accessibility features into its software since the 1980s, but when Steve Jobs insisted that the first iPhone have no buttons—making it almost unusable for blind people—it sparked faster and faster feature innovations, like haptic feedback, screen magnification, suppression of flashing content and hundreds more. There are so many, in fact, that Apple recently introduced App Store “Accessibility Nutrition Labels” to let users know how each app serves their specific disability.

“It makes good business sense to make technology that works for everyone—we mean everyone,” says Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s top accessibility official. “Accessibility is some of the most creative work we do.”

Related Topics:blind deaf DEIA disability paralysis Venture Capital

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Finance

Will Trump’s US$200 Billion MBS Purchase Directive Reshape Federal National Mortgage Association’s (FNMA) Core Narrative?

Published

10 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Will Trump’s US0 Billion MBS Purchase Directive Reshape Federal National Mortgage Association’s (FNMA) Core Narrative?

In early January 2026, President Donald Trump directed government representatives, widely understood to include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to purchase US$200 billion in mortgage-backed securities to push mortgage rates and monthly payments lower. Beyond its housing affordability goal, the move highlights how heavily the administration is leaning on government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae to influence credit conditions and the mortgage market’s structure. With this large-scale…

Finance

Holyoke City Council sends finance overhaul plan to committee for review

Published

22 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Holyoke City Council sends finance overhaul plan to committee for review

HOLYOKE — The City Council has advanced plans to create a finance and administration department, voting to send proposed changes to a subcommittee for further review.

The move follows guidance from the state Division of Local Services aimed at strengthening the city’s internal cash controls, defining clear lines of accountability, and making sure staff have the appropriate education and skill level for their financial roles.

On Tuesday, Councilor Meg Magrath-Smith, who filed the order, said the council needed to change some wording about qualifications based on advice from the human resources department before sending it to the ordinance committee for review.

The committee will discuss and vote on the matter before it can head back to the full City Council for a vote. It meets next Tuesday. The next council meeting is scheduled for Jan. 20.

On Monday, Mayor Joshua Garcia said in his inaugural address that he plans to continue advancing his Municipal Finance Modernization Act.

Last spring, Garcia introduced two budget plans: one showing the current $180 million cost of running the city, and another projecting savings if Holyoke adopted the finance act.

Key proposed changes include realigning departments to meet modern needs, renaming positions and reassigning duties, fixing problems found in decades of audits, and using technology to improve workflow and service.

Garcia said the plan aims to also make government more efficient and accountable by boosting oversight of the mayor and finance departments, requiring audits of all city functions, enforcing penalties for policy violations, and adding fraud protections with stronger reporting.

Other steps included changing the city treasurer from an elected to an appointed position, a measure approved in a special election last January.

Additionally, the city would adopt a financial management policies manual, create a consolidated Finance Department and hire a chief administrative and financial officer to handle forecasting, capital planning and informed decision-making.

Garcia said that the state has suggested creating the CAFO position for almost 20 years and called on the City Council to pass the reform before the end of this fiscal year, so that it can be in place by July 1.

In a previous interview, City Council President Tessa Murphy-Romboletti said nine votes were needed to adopt the financial reform.

She also said past problems stemmed from a lack of proper systems and checks, an issue the city has dealt with since the 1970s.

The mayor would choose this officer, and the City Council will approve the appointment, she said.

In October, the City Council narrowly rejected the finance act in an 8-5 vote.

Supporters ― Michael Sullivan, Israel Rivera, Jenny Rivera, Murphy-Romboletti, Anderson Burgos, former Councilor Kocayne Givner, Patti Devine and Magrath-Smith ― said the city needs modernization and greater transparency.

Opponents ― Howard Greaney Jr., Linda Vacon, former Councilors David Bartley, Kevin Jourdain and Carmen Ocasio — said a qualified treasurer should be appointed first.

Vacon said then the treasurer’s office was “a mess,” and that the city should “fix” one department before “mixing it with another.”

The City Council also clashed over fixes, as the state stopped sending millions in monthly aid because the city hadn’t finished basic financial paperwork for three years.

The main problem came from delays in financial reports from the treasurer’s office.

Holyoke had a history of late filings. For six of the past eight years, the city delayed its required annual financial report, and five times in the past, the state withheld aid.

Council disputes over job descriptions, salaries and reforms also stalled progress.

In November, millions in state aid began flowing back to Holyoke after the city made some progress in closing out its books.

The state had withheld nearly $29 million for four months but even with aid restored, Holyoke still faces big financial problems, the Division of Local Services said.

Finance

Military Troops and Retirees: Here’s the First Financial Step to Take in 2026

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Military Troops and Retirees: Here’s the First Financial Step to Take in 2026

Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of New Year, New You, a weeklong look at your financial health headed into 2026.

You get your W-2 in January and realize you either owe thousands in taxes or get a massive refund. Both mean your withholding was wrong all year.

Most service members set their tax withholding once during in-processing and never look at it again. Life changes. You get married, have kids, buy a house or pick up a second job. Your tax situation changes, but your withholding stays the same.

Adjusting your withholding takes five minutes and can save you from owing the IRS or giving the government an interest-free loan all year.

Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator First

Before changing anything, run your numbers through the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator at www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator. The calculator asks about your filing status, income, current withholding, deductions and credits. It tells you whether you need to adjust.

The calculator considers multiple jobs, spouse income and other factors that affect your tax bill. Running it takes about 10 minutes and prevents you from withholding too much or too little.

Read More: The Cost of Skipping Sick Call: How Active-Duty Service Members Can Protect Future VA Claims

Changing Withholding in myPay (Most Services)

Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Marine Corps members use myPay at mypay.dfas.mil. Log in and click Federal Withholding. Click the yellow pencil icon to edit.

The page lets you enter information about multiple jobs, change dependents, add additional income, make deductions or withhold extra tax. You can see when the changes take effect on the blue bar at the top of the page.

Changes typically show up on your next pay statement. If you make changes early in the month, they might appear on your mid-month paycheck. If you make them later, expect them on the end-of-month check.

State tax withholding works differently. DFAS can only withhold for states with signed agreements. Changes require submitting DD Form 2866 through myPay or by mail. Not all states allow DFAS to withhold state tax.

Changing Withholding in Direct Access (Coast Guard)

Coast Guard members use Direct Access at hcm.direct-access.uscg.mil. The system processes changes the same way as myPay. Log in, navigate to tax withholding and update your information.

Coast Guard members can also submit written requests using IRS Form W-4. Mail completed forms to the Pay and Personnel Center in Topeka, Kansas, or submit them through your Personnel and Administration office.

Read More: Here’s Why January Is the Best Time to File Your VA Disability Claim

When to Adjust Withholding

Check your withholding when major life events happen. Marriage or divorce changes your filing status. Having kids adds dependents. Buying a house affects deductions. A spouse starting or stopping work changes household income.

Military-specific events matter, too. Deploying to a combat zone makes some pay tax-free. PCS moves change state tax situations. Separation from service means losing military income but potentially gaining civilian income.

Check at the start of each year, even if your circumstances seemingly stayed the same. Tax laws change. Brackets adjust for inflation. Your situation might be different even if it seems the same.

The Balance

Withholding too little means owing taxes in April plus potential penalties. Withholding too much means getting a refund but losing access to that money all year.

Some people like big refunds and treat it like forced savings. Others would rather have the money in each paycheck to pay bills, invest or set aside in normal savings.

Neither approach is wrong. What matters is that your withholding matches your tax situation and your preference for how you receive your money.

Run the estimator. Adjust your withholding. Check it annually. This simple process prevents tax surprises.

Previously In This series:

Part 1: 2026 Guide to Pay and Allowances for Military Service Members, Veterans and Retirees

Part 2: Understanding All the Deductions on Your 2026 Military Leave and Earnings Statements

Part 3: Should You Let the Military Set Aside Allotments from Your Pay?

Part 4: This Is the Best Thing to Do With Your 2026 Military Pay Raise

Stay on Top of Your Veteran Benefits

Military benefits are always changing. Keep up with everything from pay to health care by subscribing to Military.com, and get access to up-to-date pay charts and more with all latest benefits delivered straight to your inbox.

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