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Bringing Down the Barriers:
The Labour Market and Women with Disabilities in Ontario

by Gail Fawcett

     

Section 3: Social attitudes

Focus group participants in all groups mentioned negative social attitudes and lack of public awareness as two of the top three barriers that they faced when trying to enter or stay in the paid labour market. The problem begins with a lack of awareness about disabilities and disability issues. One factor that was brought up repeatedly was the negative impact of highly visible disabilities. Some participants noted that people often have a fear of being around persons with highly visible disabilities.

"People just don’t want to look at us. They don’t want us around as reminders that this could be them at some point in the future."

As well, some highly visible disabilities can mask the true potential and capabilities of persons with disabilities. As a result, negative judgements are placed upon individuals because their speech or appearance is not "normal."

"People think I’m drunk because of the way my eyes look."

"People look at my disability and they hear my speech. I can’t leave those things in the waiting room when I go for an interview. Whenever I have actually got a job, I always had positive feedback. But they were all short-term jobs. Attitude is my biggest barrier."

Women with learning disabilities commented that they were typically treated like children and not given credit when they had performed well on the job because attitudes in their workplace were such that no one believed that they could have actually done the job on their own.

"When people asked: ‘Did you do that? Who helped you?’ It really hurt. You wonder if you should tell anyone that you have a learning disability. If they know, they might be able to give you the supports on the job. But if you do tell them, they never take your abilities seriously again."

Women with developmental disabilities face enormous attitudinal barriers. They also feel that they are "treated like children" or aren’t "trusted." However, when given the opportunity and the right job, these women are quite capable of working in the paid labour market and living independently.

"I used to work in a sheltered workshop. I never thought I would ever have a real job. Then I began what was supposed to be a two-month contract. But they renewed and renewed – it’s nine years later and I’m still employed."

Those who don’t have a visible disability also experience negative attitudes.

"I don’t always look "blind." Sometimes I don’t use my cane. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t require accommodations."

When it came to matters involving the labour market and social services, many of the focus group participants voiced the belief that while social attitudes toward persons with disabilities improved over the 1980s, they have deteriorated over the course of the 1990s.

"It breaks my heart that society has devolved into a very hateful society. I’m concerned about the future for all of us."

"When employment gets tight, prejudices surface."

Women in our focus groups also noted that public attitudes and their own situation had an impact on their self-esteem. This can often lead to low self-esteem, lack of confidence and poor performance in job interviews.

"I had to fight to get homecare to come in twice a week to help me have a bath. Do you know what it’s like going for a job interview a few days after your last bath?"

While both women and men with disabilities face these attitudinal barriers, women also fight gender bias. Although women with disabilities have a high degree of financial responsibility within their households, they report that employers often still believe that they are being taken care of by someone else and don’t really need to work for pay.

"People say to me: Your husband works. You don’t need to. You’re just taking a job away from someone else."

Sexism interacts with disability in other ways. One woman who required a special seat to sit in her wheelchair had her request to a local service club turned down because "they said that they only provide assistance to men."

Visible minority women with disabilities often feel that they have an additional mark against them. Several in our focus groups mentioned that they felt racial discrimination compounded the challenges of being female and having a disability. However, they were reluctant to attribute past negative experiences solely to racial discrimination. Some felt that they had so many factors working against them that they couldn’t be sure how much of their situation could be attributed to their race.

"Is it because of my language, my race, my disability, or because I’m a woman? Why am I not being hired?"

One of the most illustrative examples of the complex interplay of attitudes toward race, disability, and gender can be found in ERDCO’s 1996 study, entitled Including Us . . . Ethno Racial People with Disabilities speak out on issues of race and disability:

One woman’s horrifying story illustrates the multiple oppressions which women are often subjected to. As a Muslim woman, she adhered to certain norms of modesty and covered her hair. Some of her female co-workers wanted to see her without her hijab (head covering) and she showed them a picture of herself which she carried in her purse. Her co-workers later took the picture out of her bag and photocopied it on top a likeness of a naked woman. They wrote "I love sex" on the picture and stuck it on the back of her wheelchair. The woman spent part of the day moving about in a public space and no one warned her of its existence. It was only when she was going home that someone told her about the picture.

"I felt humiliated. They tormented me as a minority woman, they violated my religious beliefs and they mocked my disability. Through this single obscene act they managed to attack me on several levels."34

Finally, focus group participants called for more public education regarding disability. By increasing awareness and understanding of disability, it is hoped that other, more tangible, barriers might fall. Attitudes and awareness were mentioned in almost every focus group as an area needing improvement:

"Attitude is the biggest barrier. People have to be retrained to know that we have grown with the times and that we can do things."

"Just to show you what we’re up against, a dear friend of mine who is blind went to a restaurant with a group of people, and the maitre d’ asked: ‘Smoking section or non-smoking section?’ She answered: ‘Non-smoking please.’ He then asked: ‘What about the (guide) dog?’ She answered: ‘Oh, I guess you could put him in the smoking section!’ "

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