Twice Penalized

Abstract

This article examines wage discrimination during the initial stages of employment using panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Women with disabilities are twice disadvantaged in the labor market: They face possible discrimination based on both gender and disability status. This article focuses on transitions into new employment. Two key variables indicate the circumstances in which a woman starts working at a new employer: (a) a planned employment transition or (b) finding employment after leaving a former employer for an unplanned reason or after being unemployed. The empirical evidence suggests that wage discrimination is prevalent; discrimination occurs across personal and employment characteristics. Although employment transitions resulted in lower wages, reasonable scenarios that involve personal choices as opposed to discrimination could not be eliminated. For instance, a worker with disabilities may change employers and accept a lower wage if she gains nonwage benefits (e.g., accommodations or health insurance).

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S. C. § 12101 et seq.

Baldwin, M. , & Johnson, W. (1995). Labor market discrimination against women with disabilities. Industrial Relations, 34, 555—577.

Baldwin, M. , & Johnson, W. (2000). Labor market discrimination against men with disabilities in the year of the ADA. Southern Economic Journal, 82, 20—45.

Barnartt, S. (1987). The multiple minority status of disabled women . In S. C. Hey , G. Kiger , & J. Seidel (Eds.), Impaired and disabled people in society: Structure, processes and the individual (pp. 290—304). Salem, OR : The Society for Disability Studies and Willamette University.

Becker, D. , Drake, R. , Bond, G. , Xie, H. , Dain, B. , & Harrision, K. (1998). Job terminations among persons with severe mental illness in supported employment. Community Mental Health Journal , 34, 71—82.

Becker, G.S. (1971). The economics of discrimination. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Darity, W. , & Mason, P. (1998). Evidence on discrimination in employment: Codes of color, codes of gender. Journal of Economic Perspective , 12, 63—90.

Deegan, M. (1985). Multiple minority groups: A case study of physically disabled women. In M. Deegan & N. Brooks (Eds.), Women and disability: The double handicap (pp. 37—55). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.

Deegan, M. , & Brooks, N. (Eds.). (1985). Women and disability: The double handicap. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.

10.

Guttman, L. (1950). The basis for scalogram analysis. In S. Stouffer , L. Guttman , E. Suchman , P. Lazarsfield , S. Star , & J. Clausen (Eds.), Measurement and prediction . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

11.

Kilbourne, B. , England, P. , & Beron, K. (1994). Effects of individual, occupational, and industrial characteristics on earnings: Intersections of race and gender. Social Forces, 72, 1149—1176.

12.

Lee, E. , Ronald, F. , & Lorimor, R. (1989). Analyzing complex survey data. New-bury Park, CA: Sage.

13.

Lyons, R.F. , Coyne, J.C. , Duck, S. , Fitch, M. , Gunter, A. , Hood, C. , et al. (1996). Social integration and disability: Clarification of relationship issues in work, family and community. Ottawa: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

14.

Mavromaras, K. , & Rudolph, H. (1997). Wage discrimination in the reemployment process . The Journal of Human Resources, 32, 812—860.

15.

O'Hara, B. (2000). Discrimination against persons with disabilities: Issues in employment transitions. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana .

16.

Oi, W. (1996). Employment and benefits for people with diverse disabilities. In J. L. Mashaw (Ed.), Disability, work and cash benefits (pp. 103—127). Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

17.

Royal, G. , & Roberts, M. (1987) Students' perceptions of and attitudes toward disabilities: A comparison of twenty conditions. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 16, 122—132.

18.

Szymanski, E. (1999). Disability, job stress, the changing nature of careers, and the career resilience portfolio. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 42, 279—289.

19.

Turnbull, H.R. , Beegle, G. , & Stowe, M. (2001). The core concepts of disability policy affecting families who have children with disabilities. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 12, 133—143.

20.

Turnbull, H. , & Stowe, M. (2001). Five models for thinking about disabilities: Implications for policy responses. Journal of Disability Policy Studies , 12, 198—205.

21.

Westbrook, M. , Legge, V. , & Pennay, M. (1993). Attitudes towards disabilities in a multicultural society. Social Science and Medicine, 26, 615—624.

22.

Yelin, E. , & Cisternas, M. (1996). The contemporary labor market and the employment prospects of persons with disabilities. In J. L. Mashaw (Ed.), Disability, work and cash benefits (pp. 33—58). Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.