Deaf people's employment and workplaces – similarities and differences in comparison with a reference population

Abstract

This study aims to describe and analyze the characteristics of deaf people in employment and their workplaces in Sweden. A population of 2144 people born 1941Á80 who attended a school for the deaf was compared to 100,000 randomly chosen individuals from the total Swedish population born 1941Á80. Data on these persons consisted of registered information from the year 2005. Results showed that there are differences between the workplaces of people in the deaf and the reference population. For instance, deaf people were more commonly employed in the public sector. People in employment showed similar findings in both populations concerning sex, age and level of educational attainment: the higher the level of educational attainment, the higher the employment rate. However, deaf people more often had a higher level of educational attainment than was required for their occupation, which is an indication of discrimination in the labour market.

Hearing people perceiving deaf people through sign language interpreters at work: on the loss of self through interpreted communication

“…In the past 25 years there has been a marked rise in deaf people, in the U.K. and in other developed nations, taking on white collar professional roles and middle and senior management posts in workplaces and organizations where hearing speaking people predominate (Schley et al, 2011;Schroedel & Geyer, 2000). In part this is a result of a rise in educational attainment associated with better access to quality education (Rydberg, Gellerstedt, & Danermark, 2011). Such roles require frequent communicative interaction and a high degree of literacy and consequently sign language interpreters in the workplace have become a more frequently recurring condition.…”

Can people with disabilities gain from education? Similarities and differences between occupational attainment among persons with and without disabilities

“…Previous studies have found that people with disabilities face more obstacles to get a job (e.g., [11,21,24,34]) and have lower educational level compared to people without disabilities [39,41]. However, there are also educational and occupational differences found between groups with different disabilities [6,8,10].…”

“…Several studies (e.g., [11,21,24,34]) focus on the problems that a certain disability group has on the labor market, without making comparisons between groups with different disabilities. However, in Surveys on Living Conditions, e.g.…”

The employment of individuals with hearing impairment in the KwaZulu-Natal private sector: Current employers’ perceptions and experiences

“…Hart et al (2004) put forward that completion of further education improves opportunities to secure meaningful employment. While higher education facilities are available, they are not always accessible, and having higher levels of qualifications does not guarantee a place in the labour market (Rydberg et al, 2011). Individuals with hearing impairment are further disadvantaged due to diverse socio-economic conditions and as a result the greater population of hearing impaired individuals are unable to afford higher education.…”

“…Educational levels and severity of hearing loss influence employment and income opportunities in various ways, with the more severe the hearing loss, the less the likelihood of obtaining paid work (Stam, Kostense, Festen & Kramer, 2013;Boutin & Wilson, 2009), whereas higher or tertiary education had a more positive effect on employment (Walter & Dirmyer, 2013;Schley et al, 2011;Rydberg, Gellerstedt & Danermark, 2011). Perkins-Dock et al 2015 (Maja et al, 2011).…”