Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Although women’s employment patterns are influenced by both the presence of children and the presence of a disability, these distinct statuses have largely been explored in isolation from each other. This research employed in-depth interviews with 32 current and former disability benefit recipients to explore the ways children shape the labor market decisions and behaviors of mothers with disabilities. Motherhood served as both a motivation for and a constraint to pursuing employment, with mothers operating under distinct cost–benefit frameworks shaped by their responsibility for children. The report concludes with recommendations for programs and policies that could most effectively facilitate labor market reengagement among a subpopulation of mothers who both want to and need to work but who face unique child-related constraints to employment opportunities.

Keywords

qualitative research disability disabilities/rehabilitation gender disparities social determinates of health child care caregiving family systems and functioning parenting motherhood /fatherhood

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aisenbrey

Evertsson

Grunow

(2009). Is there a career penalty for mothers’ time out? A comparison of Germany, Sweden and the United States. Social Forces, 88(2), 573–605. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0252

Ameri

Schur

Adya

Bentley

F. S.

McKay

Kruse

(2018). The disability employment puzzle: A field experiment on employer hiring behavior. ILR Review, 71(2), 329–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793917717474

Amorim

(2019). The labor force outcomes of mothers with disabilities. U. S. Social Security Administration. https://ardraw.policyresearchinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Amorim_ARDRAW_final-product.pdf

Belbase

Quinby

L. D.

(2020). How do DI benefits for uncovered public workers compare to SSDI? (State and Local Plana No. 71). Center for Retirement Research.

Ben-Shalom

Stapleton

(2012). The work experiences of new SSI beneficiaries: A longitudinal perspective (Issue Brief No. 12–06). Center for Studying Disability Policy.

Budig

M. J.

England

(2001). The wage penalty for motherhood. American Sociological Review, 66(2), 204–225. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657415

Bumpass

H.-H.

(2000). Trends in cohabitation and implications for children s family contexts in the United States. Population Studies, 54(1), 29–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/713779060

Charmaz

(2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. SAGE.

Christnacht

Sullivan

(2020). The choices working mothers make. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/05/the-choices-working-mothers-make.html

10.

Correll

S. J.

Benard

Paik

(2007). Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty? American Journal of Sociology, 112(5), 1297–1339. https://doi.org/10.1086/511799

11.

Deegan

M. J.

Brooks

N. A.

Deegan

M. J.

Brooks

N. A.

(1985). Women and disability: The double handicap. Transaction Books.

12.

Edin

Kissane

R. J.

(2010). Poverty and the American family: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 460–479. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00713.x

13.

Edin

Lein

(1997). Making ends meet: How single mothers survive welfare and low-wage work. Russell Sage Foundation.

14.

Farber

R. S.

(2000). Mothers with disabilities: In their own voice. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 54(3), 260–268. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.54.3.260

15.

Fremstad

Vallas

(2013). The facts on social security disability insurance and supplemental security income for workers with disabilities. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-facts-on-social-security-disability-insurance-and-supplemental-security-income-for-workers-with-disabilities/

16.

Furstenberg

F. F.

(2014). Fifty years of family change: From consensus to complexity. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 654(1), 12–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716214524521

17.

Houtenville

Shreya

Rafal

(2022). Annual report on people with disabilities in America, 2021. Institute on Disability, University of New Hampshire. https://disabilitycompendium.org/sites/default/files/user-uploads/Events/2022ReleaseYear/Annual%20Report%20—%202021%20—%20WEB.pdf

18.

Kuziemko

Pan

Shen

Washington

(2018). The mommy effect: Do women anticipate the employment effects of motherhood? (No. w24740; p. w24740). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w24740

19.

Lee

G.-T.

Hartmann

Gault

(2004). The impact of disabilities on mothers’ work participation: Examining differences between single and married mothers [Data set]. Institute for Women’s Policy Research. https://doi.org/10.1037/e572572011-001

20.

Liu

Stapleton

(2011). Longitudinal statistics on work activity and use of employment supports for new social security disability insurance beneficiaries. Social Security Bulletin, 71(3), 4.

21.

Lustig

D. C.

Strauser

D. R.

(2007). Causal relationships between poverty and disability. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 50(4), 194–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/00343552070500040101

22.

Malacrida

(2009). Performing motherhood in a disablist world: Dilemmas of motherhood, femininity and disability. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(1), 99–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390802581927

23.

Mamun

(2011). Employment among social security disability program beneficiaries, 1996–2007. Social Security Bulletin, 71(3), 24.

24.

Mann

D. R.

Mamun

Hemmeter

(2015). Employment, earnings, and primary impairments among beneficiaries of social security disability programs. Social Security Bulletin, 75(2). https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v75n2/v75n2p19.html

25.

May

Baier

Riley

Taylor

Gasper

(2019). How much would social security disability insurance beneficiaries work without the cash cliff? [Employment and Disability Research Series, Issue Paper]. Westat. https://www.westat.com/sites/default/files/SSDIandTheUltimateDemonstration.pdf

26.

Milkie

Raley

Bianchi

(2016). Taking on the second shift: Time allocations and time pressures of U.S. parents with preschoolers. Social Forces, 88(2), 487–517.

27.

Monthly Statistical Snapshot . (2022). [Monthly Statistical Snapshop]. Social Security Administration.

28.

National Employment and Disability Survey. (2015). Kessler Foundation. https://kesslerfoundation.org/sites/default/files/filepicker/5/KFSurvey2015_ExecutiveSummary.pdf

29.

O’Day

Burak

Feeney

Kelley

Martin

Freeman

Lim

Morrison

(2016). Employment experiences of young adults and high earners who receive social security disability benefits: Findings from semistructured interviews (No. 40160). Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/Final%20NBS%20Semi%20Structured%20Interview%20Report.pdf

30.

Okoro

C. A.

Hollis

N. D.

Cyrus

A. C.

Griffin-Blake

(2018). Prevalence of Disabilities and Health Care Access by Disability Status and Type Among Adults—United States, 2016. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(32), 882–887. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6732a3

31.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2010). Sickness, disability and work: Breaking the barriers. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264088856-en

32.

Pettinicchio

Maroto

(2017). Employment outcomes among men and women with disabilities: How the intersection of gender and disability status shapes labor market inequality. In Altman

B. M.

(Ed.), Research in social science and disability (Vol. 10, pp. 3–33). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-354720170000010003

33.

Ruffing

(2013, July 15). Disability insurance provides vital benefits to vulnerable workers. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/blog/disability-insurance-provides-vital-benefits-to-vulnerable-workers

34.

Ruppanner

Moller

Sayer

(2019). Expensive childcare and short school days = Lower maternal employment and more time in childcare? Evidence from the American Time Use Survey. Socius, 5, 2378023119860277. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023119860277

35.

Social Security Disability Insurance. (2022). [Policy Basics]. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/policybasics-di.pdf

36.

Stuber

Schlesinger

(2006). Sources of stigma for means-tested government programs. Social Science & Medicine, 63(4), 933–945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.01.012

37.

U.S. Government Accountability Office Child Care. (2021). Subsidy eligibility and receipt, and wait lists (No. 21-245R).

38.

Weaver

D. A.

(2021). Social security disability benefits: Characteristics of the approved and denied populations. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 32(1), 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044207320933538

39.

Williams

(2010). Reshaping the work-family debate: Why men and class matter. Harvard University Press.

40.

Kuo

J. C.-L.

(2017). The motherhood wage penalty by work conditions: How do occupational characteristics hinder or empower mothers? American Sociological Review, 82(4), 744–769. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122417712729

“In Every Decision I’m Making,I’m Thinking About My Son”: How Children Motivate and Constrain the Labor Force Participation of Mothers With Disabilities

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References