Accessibility and WCAG

Digital accessibility is an inclusive practice that removes barriers so that people of all abilities can access online content and information.

Thomson Reuters aims to lead the way in providing greater access to justice for all - and accessibility for all our customers is a key component in providing this access.

We are proud to be a W3C member, helping to create the WCAG . Through the W3C process, WCAG provides guidance documentation on how to make web content more accessible to all people.

The main goal is to provide a global shared standard for digital content.

Thomson Reuters strives to follow the standards set out by the latest WCAG guidelines, or the best practices outlined at the time.

The importance of accessibility for all has only increased during the COVID pandemic. With many people across the world now working from home, or adopting a hybrid approach to office life, it is vitally important that all digital content is created in an accessible form.

Building HighQ with accessibility in mind means that you will see accessibility changes on our platform from time to time. Our changes help us meet the current version of WCAG and further our goal of building products without barriers.

Whilst not an exhaustive list, the following are key changes to accessibility introduced on the HighQ platform:

The HighQ Collaborate platform is designed to work with assistive technology software tools called screen readers. This provides greater access for our customers with visual impairments. The majority of non-text content now has alt text so that, when focus is on that item, the screen reader can identify the image/area in question. There are some exceptions to this where third-party plug-ins are installed or user-uploaded images are in place.

For more information about two of the most common screen readers, follow the links below:

If there is associated content linked to an action, this will be identified, displayed and read out by the screen reader.

For example, when you are sending a message to someone it will inform you of who you are sending that message to. Third-party exceptions apply here.

We have updated the Collaborate platform so that keyboard navigation is provided in a meaningful sequence when using keyboard shortcuts on the site.

In addition, a focal outline is employed to show exactly where you are on the page. This focal outline can be customised in line with your branding guidelines.

We have changed the contrast ratio to meet the minimum ratio advised by WCAG.

If you zoom into your page on HighQ, in most cases the content will stay within view and not overlap or be cut off.

When using the keyboard to navigate in a pop-up window, the focus area remains in the window. This avoids the potential issue of keyboard traps when the focal point jumps out of a pop-up window.

Wherever possible, errors will be identified in line or adjacent to actions where mandatory fields are to be filled.

For further information please visit Thomson Reuters Digital Accessibility Policy or if you have any questions then please contact accessibility@thomsonreuters.com.