Evidence of Employment Inequality among Females with Disabilities

Abstract

Women consistently earn less than men. This holds true for individuals with and without disabilities. Women with disabilities, however, have more negative employment experiences than do men with disabilities. The purpose of this article is to explore the less than desirable conditions that women with disabilities face in employment.Studies dealing primarily with the employment outcomes of females and males with disabilities are reviewed, followed by recommendations for the field of special education. We suggest that women with disabilities are dually disadvantaged in employment when gender interacts with disability.Historically, women have earned less than men for comparable employment. Unpaid household and domestic tasks traditionally performed by womenhave only recently begun to be recognized by the public as hard work. Today, when two out of every three adults in poverty are female (Sidel, 1986), many women now work for survival. Constituting over half the population as well as the labor force, women in 1989 earned only 68% of men's wages (Crispell, 1991). Although the earnings gap has narrowed, some women are still not viewed as equal to men in occupational competence. Some of the problems females face in employment can be traced to the manner in which they were socialized (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974). Socialization is the process through which we acquire personal identity, values, and preferences through experiences. Matlin (1987) reported that some of the major agents of socialization-family, friends, and the media-perpetuate sex-typing, or internalization of personality attributes that characterize each gender. Moreover, Matlin also found that children as young as 3 years old hold stereotyped views concerning occupations appropriate for men and women. Little girls learn from the world around them that femininity involves beauty, passivity, and nurturance, whereas young boys are socialized to become strong breadwinners. Barriers to women's career development have been categorized as social, or externally caused, and personal, or internally caused (Lunnenborg 8c Wilson, 1982). Social barriers include the earnings gap, occupational stereotypes, and the gender division of the labor market. Personal barriers involve traits and attitudes that were reinforced and socialized beginning in childhood. These include fear of competitiveness, sex norms, limited self-esteem, low motivation for leadership, Address: Sally A. Fulton, 5222 High Point-Wallburg Road, High Point, NC 27265.

Crossing the Great Divide: Predicting Productive Engagement for Young Women with Disabilities

“…Evidence suggests that the disadvantages young women with disabilities experience out of school have their roots in the inadequate or inappropriate services they receive while they are in school (Benz & Halpern, 1993;Fulton & Sabornie, 1994;Wagner, 1992). For example, Wagner (1992) found that young women were less likely than males to be involved in occupationally-specific vocational training during high school, and when involved, they were more likely to receive training for sex-stereotyped jobs that rarely pay well (e.g., food service, office occupations).…”

Gender Differences in the Education and Employment of Young Adults

“…Table 2 summarizes findings from both national and selected state follow-up/follow-along studies conducted since 1983. Like the recent work of Fulton and Sabornie (1994), these studies reported findings across various highincidence disability groups and are well recognized by the field for their value in yielding insight into the transition patterns of young adults with disabilities. Levine and Edgar's (1995) study, which runs counter to previous findings (including their earlier analysis oftheir own work), found few significant gender differences in postschool outcomes for youth with learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, and for young adults without disabilities.…”

“…As our nation swiftly approaches the twenty-first century, it is unfortunate that gender differences continue to plague educational and employment outcomes (Fulton & Sabornie, 1994). Because participation of both men and women in the labor force is positively related to educational attainment, it is essential to examine the indicators of relative performance between the sexes (Mincer, 1990).…”

Using Cultural and Social Capital to Improve Postsecondary Outcomes and Expand Transition Models for Youth With Disabilities

“…Furthermore, access to adult service agencies such state vocational rehabilitation agencies provides young adults with knowledge of their rights and responsibilities as employees with disabilities (cultural capital) as well as introduction into networks (social capital) of service providers (Agran, Cain, & Cavin, 2002). Evidence supports that access to adult agencies and vocational experiences are limited by racial/ethnic (Giesen, Cavenaugh, & Sansing, 2004), disability (Gregg, Scott, & McPeek, 1999), and gender (Fulton & Sabornie, 1994) biases. Research can illuminate factors that facilitate and inhibit access to resources of cultural and social capital that potentially increase employment and mitigate marginalization through biases.…”