Barriers to employment for people with intellectual disabilities in low‐ and middle‐income countries: Self‐advocate and family perspectives

Abstract

Despite a growing focus on disability-inclusive employment and livelihoods, people with intellectual disabilities and their families remain underrepresented in both the literature and in employment programming. This paper identifies key barriers to inclusive employment collected through six (6) focus groups made up of people with intellectual disabilities (N:54) and their family members (N:45) in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. Self-advocates and families report stigma, denial of access to education, safety and security concerns, pressure to engage in self-employment, and discrimination as key barriers. Their experiences can contribute to more inclusive cross-disability perspectives on employment and provide guidance for practitioners aiming to design responsive disability-inclusive employment programmes.

Mainstreaming disability inclusive employment in international development

“…They are already in precarious economic positions and are vulnerable to catastrophic expenditures and losses of income, as their work (if they can get it) is often in the informal sector and without long-term security and typically not protected by employment laws. Some of papers report on research linked to intervention programmes working on disability inclusive employment and thus provide recommendations for programme planners and for policy level action (Bialik & Mhiri, 2022;Ebuenyi et al, 2022;Morris et al, 2022;Remnant et al, 2022;Shaw et al, 2022;Yusupov & Abdukhalilov, 2022).…”

“…The seven papers included here address dilemmas within the disability inclusive employment arena from various angles and in diverse cultural and socio‐political contexts. Some have a multi‐country focus (e.g., Bialik & Mhiri, 2022; Morris et al, 2022; Shaw et al, 2022) while others discuss individual countries and situations (Ebuenyi et al, 2022: Kenya; Nkansah‐Dwamena, 2022: Ghana; Remnant et al, 2022: Malawi; Yusupov & Abdukhalilov, 2022: Uzbekistan).…”

“…There are some recurring themes and issues raised by several or all the papers. They use a range of methodologies but are mainly empirical qualitative studies, some with a strong participatory/co‐construction or action research element and or linked to larger intervention programmes (Bialik & Mhiri, 2022; Morris et al, 2022; Shaw et al, 2022). This is appropriate for the topic, as it brings an inclusive action‐orientated feel to the evidence collection processes and interpretation.…”

“…Some papers have a specific gender or impairment focus, and this is important, as we know that rates of unemployment are much higher everywhere for women with disabilities than for men, and also that some impairment groups are particularly excluded from the jobs market. All the papers except Bialik and Mhiri (2022) and Nkansah‐Dwamena (2022) address the inclusive employment agenda for a range of people with varied impairment types. The former authors focus on people with intellectual disabilities specifically, and we were glad to include this paper with its very participatory and inclusive approach, as this group is usually excluded from research and disability debates.…”

“…The mechanisms driving this are thought to be that it is harder to get a job and keep it for disabled people and also reduced access to finance, extra expenses, reduced social capital, less community support and more stigma to deal with. Increased risk of job loss for people with disabilities during economic downturns and other crises (e.g., as an impact of a pandemic) is mentioned by several of the papers (Bialik & Mhiri, 2022; Ebuenyi et al, 2022). Taking an intersectional view, we can see the overlapping inequalities that disabled people face.…”