On Monday, October 28, Apple released nearly 60 new emoji characters with its iOS 13.2 software update. Among interracial couples and gender-neutral characters, the emoji keyboard now includes the anticipated disability-centric characters and icons. Now included in Apple’s emoji library are service dogs for the blind and characters in wheelchairs and with prosthetic limbs.
Although beginning 2015, Apple has made significant strides in its efforts to diversify its emoji collection, disability inclusion hasn’t been a part of its initiative until now.
It was only in 2018 that Apple started to advocate for emoji options that were more inclusive to people with disabilities. The tech company sent a proposal to Unicode Consortium — the nonprofit organization that sets the global standards for emojis — advocating for 13 new emojis that would represent disabilities.
“Currently, emoji provide a wide range of options, but may not represent the experiences of those with disabilities,” Apple wrote in its March 2018 proposal. “Diversifying the options available helps fill a significant gap and provides a more inclusive experience for all.
With people with disabilities composing the largest minority group in America, it’s a wonder why it took this long for Apple to introduce this addition to its emoji collection. Especially as a tech company that prides itself, ensuring its products and software accommodate people with disabilities, such emojis should have been a part of its diversity and inclusion efforts back in 2015.
Even though dozens of disability advocacy groups are praising Apple for the milestone, people with disabilities and their allies are offering their constructive criticism, most of them referring to the lack of representation of intellectual and invisible disabilities. One example is an op-ed in The Washington Post by Amy Silverman, a journalist who covers disability-related issues and a mother of a teenager with Down syndrome.
