Gina Bhawalkar

Principal Analyst

Forrester Bio

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Blog

Digital Accessibility Vendor Level Access To Acquire UserWay In A First-Of-Its-Kind Deal

Gina Bhawalkar January 4, 2024
The accessibility community was abuzz with reactions to news that digital accessibility platform vendor Level Access plans to acquire accessibility overlay provider UserWay.
Blog

Stay Off Santa’s Naughty List: Four Ways To Responsibly Design Experiences This Holiday Season

Gina Bhawalkar November 20, 2023
Practice inclusive design this holiday season to unlock long-term benefits. Here are four ways to implement responsible design.
Blog

Announcing The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, Q4 2023

Gina Bhawalkar October 18, 2023
I’ve been prepping for a detailed evaluation of this technology market for some time, and I’m excited to announce that The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, Q4 2023, is now live!
Blog

Do You Understand GenAI? You Need To, Especially If You’re A CX Leader

David Truog October 3, 2023
Do you understand generative AI? Forrester’s data shows that 54% of AI decision-makers believe their organization’s executive team is “very familiar” with it — but we’ve observed widespread misunderstandings among execs of what it is, how it works behind the curtain, and what it can do. So last week we published a new, FAQ-style report […]
Blog

Conduct Better Research With Inclusive Screener Questions

Gina Bhawalkar July 26, 2023
By practicing inclusive design, businesses can increase revenue, decrease costs, improve resilience, and build trust with customers and employees. But to do this successfully, companies need to incorporate inclusive design principles when creating experiences.
Blog

Introducing The Digital Accessibility Platforms Landscape, Q2 2023

Gina Bhawalkar June 29, 2023
I aim to help clients understand the technologies available to help them scale and report on the progress of their accessibility programs, starting with our just published Forrester Landscape on the Digital Accessibility Platforms market.
Blog

Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2023: Bright Spots And Opportunities In A Year Of Accessibility Research

Gina Bhawalkar May 18, 2023
Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day focused on digital accessibility and inclusion. Why do we need a day dedicated to this? 
Blog

Design Responsibly To Earn Trust

Gina Bhawalkar May 16, 2023
What does it mean to practice human-centered design? The answer to that question is evolving. If you’ve read my research, you know it’s critical for businesses to embed accessibility and inclusive design practices into how they design and develop experiences. Doing so helps increase revenue, reduce costs, increase resilience, and build trust with customers and […]
Blog

Three Steps To Build A Business Case For Inclusive Design

Gina Bhawalkar April 18, 2023
Businesses that create inclusive products, services, and experiences can increase revenue, decrease costs, improve resilience, and build trust with customers and employees. Unlocking these benefits requires an intentional approach to inclusive design, something most firms lack due to low organizational understanding of why inclusive design matters and limited funding.
Blog

The White House’s $500 Million Request For CX Funding Is A Big Step Toward A Vital Goal

Colleen Fazio April 3, 2023
The White House’s budget proposal for fiscal-year 2024 includes more than $500 million in customer-experience (CX)-related investments to continue progress on the administration’s robust CX goals. Predictably, this hasn’t made headlines: It’s just .007% of the total $6.9 trillion budget proposal and doesn’t excite fiery debates like higher-profile requests do. It’s a strong investment, however, […]
Blog

Drive Growth With Digital Accessibility: Best Practices From Three Retailers

Gina Bhawalkar February 16, 2023
With a turbulent and unprecedented current economy, most retailers are trying to shore up revenue wherever they can. One way to do this is through making your company’s websites and mobile apps more accessible. Annually, the disability community has a disposable income of $1.9 trillion and an accessible digital storefront gives you access to this market.
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Design For Empathy To Build Deeper Connections With Your Customers

Gina Bhawalkar January 23, 2023
Empathizing with customers is almost always the first step in design frameworks. Learn how to take the next step and embed empathy into your entire design process.
Blog

You Need A Design System — Here’s Why

Gina Bhawalkar December 12, 2022
Our research shows that the best organizations use a design system to streamline and scale experience design (XD). Learn the benefits of a design system.
Blog

All I Want For Christmas Is An Accessibility Expert

Gina Bhawalkar November 29, 2022
Twenty-seven percent of design teams plan to hire accessibility experts in the next 12 months. Learn what success in the role requires.
Blog

Adopt Inclusive Design Practices That Put Users First This Holiday Season

Senem Guler Biyikli November 22, 2022
Incorporate inclusive design this holiday season by prioritizing digital accessibility, using inclusive language, and showing that you care.
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Design Do’s And Don’ts For Retailers This Holiday Season

Senem Guler Biyikli November 21, 2022
Retailers can improve their websites and boost customer experience this holiday season by applying these tips.
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Five Months Worth Of Takes On The Digital Accessibility Space

Gina Bhawalkar October 6, 2022
Much has happened within a short span of time that signals the growing importance of creating experiences that are accessible to all.
Blog

Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2022: What’s Changed In Our Four Years Covering This Space

Senem Guler Biyikli May 19, 2022
On Global Accessibility Awareness Day this year, learn what’s changed in digital accessibility over the past four years. Read more.
Blog

Get Help With Digital Accessibility: Tips For Selecting An Accessibility Partner

Gina Bhawalkar April 21, 2022
Over the last two years, digital accessibility quickly became a business priority. Forrester has seen a significant increase in inquiries related to accessibility, and more companies are hiring accessibility specialists — an encouraging signal that companies are making investments in this space. This increase is partly driven by the pandemic, which elevated the importance of […]
Blog

Design Leaders Reveal How To Build Inclusive And Diverse Design Teams — And Why That Matters

Senem Guler Biyikli March 28, 2022
Does your organization want to create inclusive experiences for your customers? Are you following an inclusive design process? If the answer to both questions is “yes,” great! But if you’re like most companies we speak with, you’re missing an essential component for creating inclusive experiences: an inclusive and diverse design team. Having such a team […]
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