Empowerment through work: the cases of disabled individuals and low-skilled women workers on the US–Mexican border

Aylott

et al. 2021

Brit J Learn Disabil

Accessible Summary In the UK very few people with learning disability and/or autism and their family‐carers have a paid job although a lot of them may wish to work. National plans from the Government have not helped to change this. This article talks about a consultation we did on adults with learning disabilities and/or autism who attend day centres and their family‐carers. We asked about their current situation, their employment and the barriers to work. We found out that very few people with learning disabilities and/or autism or their family‐carers were employed. We found that there were lots of things stopping people with learning disabilities and/or autism and family‐carers from being able to work. We conclude that disability theories like the “social model of disability” need to go back to looking at inclusion, citizenship and independence, based on the real life experience of people with a learning disability. The government needs to provide strong plans to help people with learning disabilities and/or autism and family‐carers get into work. “Co‐production” networks should be set up between people with learning disabilities and families to support employment. Abstract BackgroundOnly 5.9% of working adults with a learning disability are in paid employment and their family‐carers are similarly likely to be unemployed, as they continue to take on an extended caring and advocacy role as the welfare state retreats. Despite social policy efforts to stimulate employment for people with a learning disability, there has been little or no progress. Changes in the language of welfare benefit departments seek to use the words once heralded as success for the Disability rights activists and proponents of the social model: such as Inclusion, independence and citizenship. A new definition of the social model of disability utilising Hannah Arendt needs to redefine the “private” sphere of the lived experience of people with a learning disability to allow for a better understanding of the inter‐dependencies that exist between people with a learning disability, their family carers and a wider support network. Materials and MethodsEmpirical data were collected in a mixed methods study while undertaking a consultation on the future of day services for people with a learning disability in a Local Authority in the north of England, UK. ResultsThe results reveal high levels of inter‐dependence between people with a learning disability and their carers, combined with the continued financial struggle as a lived experience of caring. The study found that barriers in providing care and support restrict the rights of people with a learning disability and their carers to secure employment. ConclusionsThere is a need to reconceptualise the social model of disability to more closely resonate with the lived experiences of people with a learning disability and their carers. A newly revised theoretical approach should incorporate the "private" sphere of live acknowledging the inter‐dependent, co‐produced relationships, between people w...

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Lived experience and the social model of disability: conflicted and inter‐dependent ambitions for employment of people with a learning disability and their family carers

Aylott

et al. 2021

Brit J Learn Disabil

“…There are several types of empowerment, such as political and psychological empowerment. In a study conducted by Castañeda et al (2019), entitled Empowerment through work: the cases of disabled individuals and lowskilled women workers on the US -Mexican border were identified as examples of psychological empowerment (Conger & Kanungo 1988), because psychological empowerment is a construct consisting of four perceptions: meaning (the value of work goals in relation to the individual's own values), competence (personal beliefs about ability and mastery), determination self-destiny (a sense of choice about one's work behavior), and impact (beliefs about the degree of influence a person might have at work). If it is associated with the HWDI Community, it is hoped that the strengthening will create a community that is psychologically empowered as well, namely becoming individuals who can determine their own destiny, especially during this pandemic period by being able to maintain personal health by implementing predetermined health protocols (Bedford et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Model for strengthening women's empowerment through the implementation of family functions in Indonesian women's associations with disabilities

2021

This research was motivated by the limited space given to the community of women living with disabilities in the Indonesian Association of Women with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Since the temporary suspension of all routine activities in the community, they’ve had to stay at home more. With all the limitations that they have, women living with disabilities need to be strengthened so that they can continue to carry out their functions in the family. Research activities involved the use of research and development methods which are carried out in two forms, namely through qualitative and experimental explorations. The research findings were a model for strengthening the empowerment of women with disabilities through the application of family functions such as; Women who previously did not understand and who cared less about the importance of implementing family functions are now more responsive. Among them were the implementations of health protocols recommended by the government in their activities, which they are now starting to implement at home. Women living with disabilities are increasingly concerned about maintaining health in their families to avoid the COVID-19 virus.

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Scie

“…Ethnic and immigrant organizations that do exist in El Paso often have an important employment and service provision component (Castañeda et al 2018). These nonprofit community-based organizations receive city, state, and federal grants, as well as in-kind donations and tax-deductible contributions.…”

Section: The Contexts: New York El Paso Paris and Barcelonamentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Contexts and Immigrant Organizations: Differences in New York, El Paso, Paris, and Barcelona

Castañeda¹

2020

Self Cite

This article compares immigrant and ethnic organizations in four major immigrant-receiving cities and reveals substantial variation across these immigrant gateway cities. Using data from ethnographic fieldwork and an original database of relevant organizations in New York City; El Paso, Texas; Paris; and Barcelona, I find differences in organizational type and density, as well as in their legitimacy and funding. This article contributes to a growing literature on immigrant organizations. Although immigrant organizations have a long history in some cities, they may not always operate in ways that enhance refugee and migrant integration. Comparing immigrant organizations is fruitful because it tells us more about city and national political systems and why distinct localities deal with cultural minorities differently. These comparisons can help the readers to understand the barriers and ladders that immigrants encounter in different cities and inform policy-makers in designing better approaches to incorporate immigrants.