 Good afternoon, welcome to inaccessible accessibility, real-life stories. Hopefully this will be interesting to you, and you can see how this plays out. My name is Milad. I work for EPAM Systems. I'm a lead software engineer there. I'm also the co-organizer of the Deaf in Cloud Native Community Group. I'm also an active member of the CNCF Deaf and Hard of Hearing WG, which is Working Group, Tag Contributor Strategies, and I have a YouTube channel targeting sign language in tech for the Deaf. You can also contact me at any of the methods you see here on the screen. What is the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working Group? It's a working group of the Tag Contributor Strategy, and it comprises members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, as well as parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children, as well as hearing allies. We have a common mission, which is to create pathways for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people into cloud native and open source. A real-life example that happened to me at a job interview. I once had an interview at a large financial institution that claimed to be all about diversity and accessibility. I was thrilled for the opportunity, and I expected them to provide the necessary accommodations since they knew in advance that I was Deaf. Unfortunately, the day of the interview, things did not go as planned. The promise support was either not there or fell short, leaving me feeling disappointed and wondering about the sincerity of the company's commitment to inclusivity and diversity. The experience made me realize how much actions matter far more than words on a website. The interview underscored the importance of companies genuinely living up to their stated values, particularly when it comes to creating a workplace that embraces diversity and makes everyone, regardless of background and abilities, feel welcomed and valued. How does this happen? Accessibility is unfortunately often an empty claim. Many companies claim to be accessible, but they don't know what it takes to make it happen. They have no knowledge or training, and it's an empty claim. Lack of knowledge within organizations on how to execute accessible interview processes is a real thing. Also, people make assumptions about what is needed instead of asking us directly. Also, sometimes Deaf and Hard of Hearing people explain what is needed for accessibility ahead of time, yet they don't take it seriously enough to make it happen. So what happens is the result is that we do not feel valued. It blocks our success, and it's very frustrating. What needs to change? Quite simply, we have to start providing comprehensive training and knowledge within organizations on how to facilitate accessible interviews. We also need to ensure the presence of sign language interpreters during interviews. This also takes a lot of flexibility, and it's important to accommodate the specific needs of individuals since they vary widely. There's also a lot of technology able to be used for communication, like real-time transcription services. And interviews over the telephone tend to be one way rather than two way if these things are not utilized. Also, engaging in open communication with the candidate, asking directly about their accommodations and requirements for a more accessible experience. How can you help? Help educate your network about the great Deaf candidates that exist. You can also see several fantastic engineers among us today sitting here in the front. And if you see a situation that accessibility is not being provided, call it out. Possibly your team might be interviewing a candidate who is Deaf or hard of hearing. Educate your company about what is needed. Also, you can help raise awareness about our group, last but certainly not least. Thank you so much.