Jeanne Neath

Workplace Discrimination Outcomes and Their Predictive Factors for Adults with Multiple Sclerosis.

Because employment is a significant predictor of the quality of life of people with disabilities (Rumrill, Roessler, & Fitzgerald, 2004; Viermo & Krause, 1998), discrimination in the workplace that interferes with successful job acquisition or retention is a serious matter. Unfortunately, this type of discrimination is all too prevalent. In a survey conducted by the National Organization on Disability (National Organization on Disability, 2004), one in five employed individuals with disabilities reported that they experienced discrimination in their efforts to work. This finding of one in five workers with disabilities translates into substantial numbers of Americans who do not have fair access to employment opportunities. For example, estimates based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau (Head & Baker, 2005) indicate that approximately 50 million Americans of workforce age have disabilities.

The Relationship of Selected Supply-and Demand-Side Factors to Forms of Perceived Discrimination Among Adults With Multiple Sclerosis

Single-predictor and stepwise multinomial logistic regression analyses and an external validation were completed on 3,082 allegations of employment discrimination by adults with multiple sclerosis. Women filed two thirds of the allegations, and individuals between 31 and 50 made the vast majority of discrimination charges (73%). Allegations occurred most frequently in industries with the largest number of employees (501 or more). Results of the single-predictor multinomial logistic regression analyses identified gender and company size as the two predictors, findings that were mirrored in the main effects model developed through the stepwise multinomial logistic regression analyses. Women were more likely than men to allege discrimination related to harassment and intimidation rather than to discharge. Workers in the smallest companies were less likely than workers in the largest companies to allege discrimination regarding reasonable accommodation, working conditions, or employment benefits and more likely to allege discrimination related to discharge. Cross-validation results provided mixed support for the main effects model.

Social Causes of Impairment, Disability, and Abuse A Feminist Perspective

Impairments are often acquired as a result of social practices (e.g., war, interpersonal violence). There is a strong likelihood in a “disabling society” that disability will follow impairment. This article provides evidence suggesting that many of the social practices that cause impairments (and that therefore often lead to disabilities) are part of a large-scale social pattern that feminists often refer to as “patriarchy.” This social pattern is characterized by (a) male dominance; (b) hierarchy (e.g., a social class system); (c) male-on-male struggles for power (e.g., war); (d) control, exploitation, and devaluation of “the other” (e.g., racial minorities, people with disabilities); and (e) internalized oppression. Although disability scholars taking a sociopolitical approach to disability have usually focused on the social construction of disability through disabling attitudes, behaviors, and environments, this article advocates focusing also on the social construction of disability through the social creation of impairment provided a minority, not medical, model is used. The role of patriarchy in causing impairment (and disability) and the abuse of people with disabilities is discussed. A preliminary feminist model of patriarchal oppression, disability, and abuse is proposed.