Exploring career advancement challenges people with disabilities are facing in the South African work context

Abstract

Orientation: South Africa has faced a number of discriminatory practices in the past. Most of these practices are still present today. Although a considerate amount of attention has been given to discrimination based on gender, race and religion, limited emphasis has been placed on discrimination based on disability, specifically within the workplace.Research purpose: The objective of the study was to explore the perceptions of individuals living with a disability with regards to career advancement challenges they face in the South African workplace.Motivation for study: The research literature shows that irrespective of employment equity legislation, employees with disabilities have restricted opportunities to advance in their careers. Research is needed to assist these employees with their career development.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative research design with an exploratory approach was followed. Probability, purposeful and snowballing sampling techniques were applied in this study on 15 employed individuals with declared disabilities. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and the verbatim transcriptions were analysed by content analysis.Main findings/results: The findings indicated that people with disabilities generally experience career advancement challenges and reach career plateau. Managers and colleagues’ lack of knowledge about disability has an adverse impact on the careers of people living with a disability. The study found that human resource practices, especially promotion opportunities, discriminate against employees with disabilities. Furthermore, the study further indicated that there is prejudice against invisible disabilities, and as a result, employees are reluctant to declare their disability.Practical implications: Human resource practitioners and managers need to recognise the influence that disabilities have on the career advancement of individuals living with a disability in order to assist such individuals in their own career development.Contribution: The findings of this study will help companies improve their practices on the integration and inclusion of employees with disabilities and also on decision-making regarding their careers.

Practice Experiences of South African Social Workers Living With Disabilities

“…The findings also reveal that social workers living with disabilities experience challenges of access to communities while doing home visits and community meetings. This finding is confirmed by conclusions drawn in Potgieter et al (2017) that persons with disabilities in the workplace experience challenges related to geographical design and landscapes. This finding further affirms the premise of the social disability model that the problem is located within society rather than within the individual with a disability.…”

“…Various studies confirmed that persons with disabilities in the workplace encounter challenges (Hargreaves, Dearnley, Walker & Walker, 2014;Jayasooria, Krishnan & Ooi, 1997;Ta & Leng, 2013;Malatji & Dube, 2017;Nhedzi & Makofane, 2015;Potgieter et al, 2017) However, the findings of this study focused on challenges experienced in practice by social workers living with disabilities. The data analysed yielded a number of sub-themes.…”

Barriers to and facilitators of employment of persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review

“…In a study by Khoo et al (2013), participants with physical disabilities reported unequal employment opportunities, and the government prioritises employment of the skilled ablebodied population (Khoo et al 2013). Notably, the focus in most studies in the review was specific to the formal sector, with work based in urban areas (Potgieter et al 2017;Saigal & Narayan 2014;Wiggett-Barnard & Swartz 2012;Wolffe et al 2013a). Given that most LMICs rely on self-employment (Mitra et al 2013), the informal sector was scarcely mentioned (Agyei-Okyere et al 2019;Bhanushali 2016).…”

“…Negative attitudes from employers, family and society were reported as major factors that hinder participation in employment. Employers' misconceptions held about disability influence hiring practices (Bengisu et al 2008;Bualar 2014;Potgieter et al 2017). Employers lack trust and believe that persons with disabilities can be as productive as other employees without disabilities (Lee et al 2011;Maja et al 2011;Toldrá & Santos 2013).…”

Voices of Strength: A Survey of Librarians Working with Chronic Illnesses or Conditions

“…Research on career progression among the disabled indicates that they are more likely to face barriers to career advancement because of the lack of understanding or awareness managers have about disabilities. Discrimination can also be a factor, regardless of whether the disability is visible or invisible (Potgieter et al, 2017).…”