Disability, Economic Globalization and Privatization:  A Case Study of India

Hiranandani, Vanmala Sunder; Sonpal, Deepa

doi:10.18061/dsq.v30i3/4.1272

Cited by 29 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Our data (Table 1) reveals that the newspapers we investigated created boundaries around the food security debate that excludes disabled people. Given that disabled people are at higher risk of experiencing food insecurity than non-disabled people (Hiranandani & Sonpal, 2010;D. L. Huang et al, 2012;M.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lack of food security was mentioned numerous times by participants of a recent online consultation for a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 & beyond which was moderated by two leading international disability organizations and which gave voice to disabled people on numerous development issues (Wolbring, Mackay, Rybchinski, & Noga, 2013). Various sources reported on food insecurity experienced by disabled people (Hiranandani & Sonpal, 2010;D. L. Huang, Rosenberg, Simonovich, & Belza, 2012;M.…”

Section: Food Security and Disabled Peoplementioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Food Security through a Disability Studies Lens

Wolbring¹,

Mackay²

2014

JSD

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Food security is an issue of global concern recognized by numerous international and national agencies. It has been mentioned over twenty times in the Rio+20 outcome document The Future We Want. It is recognized as an essential human security by the World Health Organization Commission for Human Security and as a social determinant of health. Food security agendas are enacted in many places locally to globally. Media are to inform the public on issues of importance for the public. Disabled people are part of the public and disabled people are one group experiencing over proportional levels of food insecurity. We investigated the food security coverage of various newspapers through a disability studies lens. To obtain quantitative data on the visibility of disabled people and other groups in the food security discourse the following newspapers were investigated: The Globe and Mail (Canada), National Post (Canada), Calgary Herald (Canada), New York Times (USA), The Guardian (UK), The Times (UK), and the Canadian Newsstand complete, a collection of 300 Canadian newspapers. Quantitative and qualitative data on what food security issues were reported was obtained from The Globe and Mail (Canada), Calgary Herald (Canada) and the New York Times (USA). We discuss how issues reported around food security are influenced by disabled people and how they could impact disabled people. We found very little to no mentioning of disabled people within food security coverage. Our data also reveals the absence of coverage of other socially disadvantaged groups such as indigenous people and immigrants and a lack of a human rights or ethics angle. We posit that many of the food security problems mentioned are of relevance to and experienced by disabled people and other socially disadvantaged groups such as indigenous people and immigrants however the reader won't make the linkage by reading the newspapers we investigated. We conclude that the utility of the newspapers covered in advancing food security for disabled people and other socially disadvantaged groups is very low.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Food Security and Disabled Peoplementioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Food Security through a Disability Studies Lens

Wolbring¹,

Mackay²

2014

JSD

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“…The disenfranchisement of persons with disabilities has been further complicated in contemporary times by processes of neoliberalism that have gripped the country since the 1990s (Hiranandani & Sonpal, 2010). India adopted a range of macroeconomic policies beginning in 1991 which led to an unbridled market economy; increasing transnational capital flows; a weakening of the role of governments and greater privatization of government-owned entities; reduction in public expenditure; increase in imports and foreign investment; liberalization of trade regulations; and structural changes in the economy aimed at export-led growth (Chandrashekhar, 2010;Upadhyay, 2000).…”

Section: Wolbring (2008) Further Contends Thatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the information available, privatization has led to mixed outcomes for persons with disabilities in the employment sphere (see Hiranandani & Sonpal, 2010). While technological advances have reduced job opportunities for persons with disabilities (for example, telephone operators, stenographers, and typists positions once available to persons with visual impairments have declined (ILO, 2003)), privatization has opened new avenues for employment of people with disabilities in highly-skilled and service jobs.…”

Section: Wolbring (2008) Further Contends Thatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the post-Independence era, most socio-political responses have focused mainly on medical intervention in the form of treatment and rehabilitation to cure the 'disease' or the 'problem' (Addlakha & Mandal, 2009). These forces, operating in mutually conjunctive and complex ways, have served to exclude people with disabilities not just socially and culturally, but also from the workforce, resulting in their economic and political exclusion (World Bank, 2007;Thomas, 2005).The disenfranchisement of persons with disabilities has been further complicated in contemporary times by processes of neoliberalism that have gripped the country since the 1990s (Hiranandani & Sonpal, 2010). India adopted a range of macroeconomic policies beginning in 1991 which led to an unbridled market economy; increasing transnational capital flows; a weakening of the role of governments and greater privatization of government-owned entities; reduction in public expenditure; increase in imports and foreign investment; liberalization of trade regulations; and structural changes in the economy aimed at export-led growth (Chandrashekhar, 2010;Upadhyay, 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Trapped Between Ableism and Neoliberalism: Critical Reflections on Disability and Employment in India

Kumar¹,

Sonpal

Hiranandani³

2012

DSQ

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Despite affirmative actions such as reserved government employment, incentives and subsidies for employers, tax exemptions, skill development training etc., employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in India continue to be characterized by lower work-force participation, lower wages, lack of or limited career advancement, and discrimination in the workplace. While there has been some research on the presence of persons with disabilities in formal employment, such studies have lacked critical assessment of the underlying conceptions of (dis)ability and its interface with changes in the wider political and economic context. Using a case study approach, this article examines the outcomes of three employment initiatives in India. We contend that work and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities remain trapped in constructs of ableism; while neoliberalism has resulted in complex, often adverse outcomes that have received little attention. The article calls for developing a more critical research agenda and building capacities for wider contestation against ableism and neoliberalism.This article examines the outcomes of recent efforts to employ persons with disabilities in India. It attempts to unmask the underlying ableist assumptions of such efforts and to critique the complex interface between ableism and neoliberalism. We begin with a brief overview of the present employment status of persons with disabilities in India, followed by a brief account of recent efforts to increase their employment opportunities, which highlights the popularity and pervasiveness of such endeavors. The second section presents a contextual account of disability and employment in India around three key foci: the social construction of (dis)ableism; the role of religion and karma in Hinduism (the dominant religion in India); and neoliberalism, the prevailing development model. In the third section, we present three case studies in which interviews were conducted with employers and their employees with disabilities. The fourth section comprises a detailed discussion around conceptions of ableism and karma in the context of neoliberalism. We find that the interface between ableism and neoliberalism in India results in ever more complex forms of workplace marginalization for persons with disabilities. In the final section, we outline a more critical research agenda to fully unearth these influences. Building Skills And Reserving Jobs: Disability And Employment In IndiaEstimated to be nearly 15% of the world's population (WHO, 2011), counts of persons with disabilities in India are both ambiguous and much lower than global estimates. For example, the National Sample Survey (2003) reported a total of 18.5 million persons with disabilities in India, while the 2001 Census identified 21.9 million persons with disabilities (Registrar General of India, 2001), which constitutes a 20% difference in government estimates. The workforce participation rate of persons with disabilities is as low as 37.6% compared to 62.5...

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The International Effect of the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Access in Society and Information

Baldiga

Gattuso

Baker

et al. 2017

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Disability, Economic Globalization and Privatization: A Case Study of India

Cited by 29 publications

References 0 publications

Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Food Security through a Disability Studies Lens

Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Food Security through a Disability Studies Lens

Trapped Between Ableism and Neoliberalism: Critical Reflections on Disability and Employment in India

The International Effect of the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Access in Society and Information

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