Over 11 Million Jobs in the U.S. May Exclude Color-Blind Persons.
There are 16 occupations that require color-typical sight. Here's how we can dismantle this barrier with better design.
Employing design solutions that involve text, pattern, and other types of visual differentiation besides color as well as developing color-identifying smart-glasses technology can start to break down occupational barriers for color-blind persons.
Given that there will be around 160 million people employed in the U.S. in 2023, 11 million represents only about 7% of those that will be tested for color-blindness (color vision deficiency). We may think, well, there are plenty of other occupations that a color-blind person could pursue. But this offers no comfort for someone who is precluded from pursuing their dream profession due to their color-blindness.
How did we get here? I believe the requirement for color acuity in about half of these occupations is a result of designers, over many decades, choosing to use color, exclusively, to differentiate information necessary for professionals to do their work.
It’s an example of the impact that inaccessible and non-universal design can have on our society.
Below is a list of occupations that require testing for color-blindness, divided into two categories: those in which design choices create challenges and those in which the issues are rooted in the natural environment.
Caused by design choices
These occupations rely on color coding to facilitate the effective use of control panels, signage, and graphical user interfaces, affecting approximately 5.3 million workers, and include:
| Air Traffic Controller | Anesthesiologist | Automotive Technicians | Commercial Drivers | Electricians | Flight attendant | Medical Assistant | Some Military | Pilot | Railroad Engineer |
Some examples of the cited need for color-typical vision in these occupations include, the ability to differentiate colors contained within: various instrument control panels, airport runway lights, signs and signals, radar displays, wiring and insulation colors, package labels, pill colors, and diagrams.
Every one of these cases could have, and can in the future, employ design solutions that involve text, pattern, and other types of visual differentiation besides color. Redesigning all of the panels, signals, packaging, wiring, etc. would be a monumental task. We will need substantial motivation, ample time, strong will, and probably laws to realize that goal.
Grounded in the natural world
These occupations rely on workers to be able to quickly react to colors that occur in the natural world. They affect about 5.9 million workers.
| Law Enforcement Officer | Welder | Medical doctors and nurses | Ophthalmologist | Radiologist | Surgeon | Some Military |
Some examples of the cited need for color-typical vision in these occupations include:
A police officer may need to be able to identify a suspect’s clothing, the color of a vehicle, or other color-specific evidence.
Firefighters must be able to differentiate between various colors of chemical compounds contained in hazardous materials, as well as different colors of smoke and flames.
Welders must have the ability to discern the color of a flame, metal, or spark in order to accurately assess the temperature of the weld, as well as identify the different colors of a welding flame, which can help them identify the type of fuel being used, and the composition of the metal being welded.
Physicians and nurses must be able to discern between varying hues of skin pigmentation and tissue samples in order to accurately diagnose illnesses.
Radiologists must be proficient interpreting color medical images, such as those used in radiography and computed tomography.
Ophthalmologists must possess the ability to accurately discern between different shades of color in order to properly diagnose and treat eye diseases.
Surgeons identify different types of tissues, organs, and other internal anatomy based on their color when performing surgery.
Military field service personnel must have the ability to identify smoke and fire types, as well as the color systems employed by enemy military forces and civilians.
These occupational barriers can in the future, be knocked down by the use of smart-glasses that can identify colors for color-blind persons. However, current research in this field appears to focus on helping color-blind persons pass color-blindness tests by altering contrast, not by facilitating a typical color spectrum. This will not resolve the challenge of distinguishing between red and green, for example. It will merely amplify the contrast between red and green. Stay tuned for a future post that dives deeper into this topic and offers a better way to aid color-blindness using smart glasses.
Sources:
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | International Association of Fire Fighters | US Department of Justice | Federal Aviation Administration | Electrical Training Alliance | American Welding Society | American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association | American Academy of Ophthalmology | American Medical Association | American College of Radiology | American Society of Anesthesiologists | National Institute of Standards and Technology | Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | U.S. Department of Defence
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