Economic Sufficiency of Women with Disability

Jennifer Lee & Shirley White
Board Member, National Industry Association for Disability Services, Australia

Abstract Women with disability belong to two minority groups - women and people with disability. While the women's movement advocate women's needs, and the disability don't have full support from either group. Without this support they face many barriers to equal participation in education and employment. Such barriers include negative influences on self-identity, lack of opportunity for independence, and discrimination in rehabilitation. Without support to overcome these barriers, women with disability are at a strong economic disadvantage. This in turn can lead to poverty, the inability to leave abusive relationships, and physical and economic dependence.

Women and people with disability have long been seen as two minority groups - members of both face prejudice and discrimination on a daily basis. A little-recognized group within these two, however, is women with disability. Members of this sub-minority group receive prejudice and discrimination from both angles - their gender, and their disability. To advocate for their needs and rights, women have the support of the women's movement, and people with disability have the support of the disability movement. It is a sad fact, however, that neither group puts much focus on the particular needs, rights and risks that women with disability face on a daily basis. Without this support, women with disability face many barriers to participation in society. Without the opportunity for full participation, women with disability cannot be economically sufficient.

The World Health Organization (Commonwealth of Australia, 1993) defines impairment as "any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function". This could, in some cases, lead to a disability which is defined as "any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being". This, in turn, could lead to a handicap: "a disadvantage for a given individual resulting from an impairment or a disability that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal ... for that individual". In Australia, the Commonwealth Disability Services Act (Commonwealth of Australia, 1993) adds to the above definition of disability by stating that it is permanent, or likely to be permanent, and results in the need for ongoing support services. This paper will be concerned with women who are handicapped by their disability - women who are disadvantaged, not only by their gender, but also by society's misconception of their abilities.

In Australia, surveys (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1993; and Commonwealth of Australia, 1993) found that during 1993, 29 percent (just over five million people) had one or more impairments or long-term health conditions. Of these, 18 percent had one or more disabilities as a result, and 14 percent had a handicap as a result of their disability. It was found that 60 percent of Australian women with disability needed assistance, compared with 39 percent of men with disability. This is consistent with studies done in China in 1991 (Ikels, Charlotte, 1991), where more women, than men, with disability have higher needs (Table 1). If the need for assistance is used as an indication of difficulty participating in society, then it is obvious that more women, than men, with disability are faced with this disadvantage. Without full participation in society, women with disability cannot be economically sufficient.

Two of the most important areas to be able to participate in, in order to be economically sufficient is education and employment. Those born with a disability may have experienced segregated education (Keith, Lois and Morris, Jenny, 1996), but even those who manage to avoid this discrimination are faced with other barriers (Commonwealth of Australia, 1993). Having a disability often means extra time is needed, whether it be for the study itself, or the personal care, travel, and maintenance of good health needed in order to study. As well as this, extra money is often needed to cover the costs of special equipment, such as tape recorders, or braille equipment. This makes it difficult to reach higher levels of education. New advances in information technology (IT) (Henry, MS and Rafferty, J, 1995), however, would seem to offer improved flexibility in study opportunities - either through distance education programs, or a greater access to a wider range of information with greater case. With male domination and discrimination, though, it has been argued (Henry, MS and Rafferty, J, 1995) that IT tends to "create and reinforce the inequalities in society". Studies in the United Kingdom (Henry, MS and Rafferty, J, 1995) have shown that female students with disability are among those who may not fully benefit from the use of IT. This is reinforced by statistics in Australia and China (Commonwealth of Australia 1993; and Ikels, Charlotte, 1991) that show women with disability rarely obtain high levels of education (Table 2).

Without equal access to participation in education, women with disability have little chance of participating in employment. Although some may not be able to work at all, most can, but merely restricted in the type of work they have access to. Apart from poor access to education, such restrictions (Commonwealth of Australia, 1993) include: poor access to the workplace; higher costs involved in gaining access (for example, transport); and decrease in work skills and value of qualifications due to long-term unemployment. Even once a job is secured, other barriers (Commonwealth of Australia, 1993) are faced, such as: a lack of equipment that is suitably modified; special facilities; or an inability to work full-time or regularly due to fatigue or the unstable nature of the disability.

In Australia (during 1993) (Commonwealth of Australia, 1993), the participation rate of women with disability in the workforce was 46 percent (only 6 percent higher than in 1988), with more women than men likely to be unemployed (Table 3). The situation is similar in Canada, where unemployment rates for women with disability was found to be 74 percent (Paltiel, Freda L, 1997).

The past decade has seen the development of supported employment programs for people with developmental and intellectual disability in the United States. Results from a case study in 1994 (Levy, Joel M, et al, 1994) suggested that women in this group were at a larger disadvantage than the men, for example: they were more likely to be fired, were employed for less time than men, and although placement rates were equal for men and women, twice as many women were employed in jobs that paid less and had fewer benefits (such as retirement schemes). In general, many women with disability resort to home-based work, finding that employment outside the home is unsuitable and often exploitative (Lloyd, Margaret, 1992).

Many barriers exist that prevent women from participating in society in a way that makes them economically sufficient. Some of these barriers include: self-identity, independence, and prejudice attitudes in rehabilitation.

Self-identity is created by many things, particularly membership to other minority groups, self image and relationships. Women with disability already experience discrimination from two angles - gender and disability. If a woman with a disability is also coloured/indigenous, or doesn't speak the local language, they are at an even further disadvantage. Participation would then seem virtually impossible, making them at a high risk for economic dependency.

Body image is important to us all in forming self-identity. Strong messages from the media tell us that people - particularly women - with disability are unattractive and cannot fulfill the role of a partner in a relationship. Women with disability do not fit the narrow image of beauty, and are thought to be incapable of being a supportive wife and/or mother. Statistics show that less women with disability marry, and those who acquire a disability after marriage have a higher rate of separation and divorce (Gill, Carol J, 1996). It is a well known fact that women living alone are at an economic disadvantage (Yee, Donna L and Capitman, John A, 1996), so women with disability who are subjected to this stereotype are also at risk of becoming economically disadvantaged. On the other hand, particularly in the United States (Gill, Carol J, 1996), people with disability who do marry (or live de facto) are seemingly penalized by the government. Funding for such essentials as health coverage, adaptive equipment, and personal assistance is reduced, thereby putting the economic responsibility onto the partner. For women with disability, this can be a particular disadvantage, leaving them vulnerable to abusive relationships; not only may they be dependent on their partner for personal assistance, but also economically dependent. For any woman to leave a relationship is difficult, but being physically and economically dependent, combined with a lack of accessible venues and services to turn to for help, it is particularly difficult for women with disability to take control over their lives and become economically sufficient (Gill, Carol J, 1996; and Paltiel, Freda L, 1997).

Independence is a very important concept to a woman with a disability. Traditionally, independence is seen as the ability to be self-reliant. Disability implies the opposite, therefore it is assumed that a woman with a disability cannot be independent. In societies where the need for personal assistance is translated into the need for 'care' - meaning the need to be looked after - people with disability find it difficult to take charge of their life. For a woman with disability who is economically dependent (as discussed above), and also oppressed by their gender, opportunity for independence may be virtually nonexistent (Morris, Jenny, 1995). The Independent Living Movement, however, defined independence in 1989 as being (Morris, Jenny, 1995):

"... able to achieve our goals. The point is that independent people have control over their lives, not that they perform every task themselves. Independence is not linked to the physical or intellectual capacity to care for oneself without assistance; independence is created by having assistance when and how one requires it."

If this concept was recognized, then women with disability would have independence, and therefore the opportunity to be economically sufficient.

For those who acquire disability later in life, rehabilitation is essential in order to regain maximum independence. For a woman with a disability, however, rehabilitation is not often seen as important. With the emphasis on rehabilitation being to enable the person to return to gainful employment, women are often seen as low priority (Rehabilitation International, 1980). This not only denies the woman her natural right to choose the role of a mother or housewife, but also denies her the right to the opportunity of becoming economically sufficient by regaining paid employment. With the resulting lack of independence, women with disability have little hope of becoming economically sufficient after acquiring a disability.

It can be seen, then, that women with disability are at a definite economic disadvantage. With barriers such as negative impact on self-identity, lack of independence, and discriminatory attitudes toward rehabilitation, women with disability are provided unequal opportunities to participate in education or employment. Without the opportunity for full participation, women with disability are unable to be economically sufficient. This leads to poverty, physical dependence, and the inability to leave abusive relationships.

Table 1: Gender Differences in Needs of Chinese (in percentages, N = 200) (Ikels, Charlotte, 1991)

Gender	None	Supervision	Household tasks	Housebound	Personal care	Bedfast	Number
Male	87	0	0	9	3	1	77
Female	66	1	14	15	4	1	123
Overall	74	0.5	9	12.5	4	1	101%(200)

* Percentage exceeds 100 due to rounding.

Table 2: Educational Attainment of Chinese by Gender (N = 200) (Ikels, Charlotte, 1991)

Level of educational attainment	Males	Females	Total
None or less than 4 year	24	87	111
4 year to completion of elementary school or equivalent*	25	18	43
Some middle school or equivalent	12	10	22
3Completion of upper middle school	3	8	11
Post-secondary degree holder	13	0	13
Total	77	123	200

* This category also includes those whose education under private or village tutors was classified as equivalent to several years of elementary school as well as two individuals who received some education only in adulthood.

Table 3: Unemployment Rate of Australians Aged 15-64 (Commonwealth of Australia, 1993)

-	Persons	Females	Males
Handicapped	21	20.7	21.2
Total with Disability	17.8	17.5	18.0
Total without Disability	12.0	12.3	11.8
Total Population	12.7	12.8	12.5

Source: ABS, Disability, Ageing and Careers, Cat. no. 4430.0.

a) Data includes only people living in households rather than hospitals, nursing homes, hostels, retirement villages and other 'homes'.

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