Originally published here.
There are approximately 1 billion disabled people in the world (Disability Overview, 2016; Sun, Wilson, Schreiber and Wang, 2017; World Report on Disability, 2011; Zheng, Tian, Hao, Gu, Tao, Liang, . . , and Hao, 2016), referring to limitations on physical, mental, and intellectual abilities, as well as constraints on participation and activity (WHO, 2012). In total, researchers estimate that adults with disabilities participate in the labor market at only 25% as compared to 75% of the overall adult population (Snyder, Carmichael, Blackwell, Cleveland, and Thornton III, 2010). Among disabled adults, the unemployment rate is 60% compared with 20% for non-disabled individuals, 22% earn below minimum wage, in comparison to the 12% from the non-disabled group, and they occupy lower status positions at work (Coffey, Coufopoulos and Kinghorn, 2014; Parlalis, 2013; Snyder et al., 2010). The above situation indicates that disabled people have a much greater chance of being unemployed or underemployed than people without disabilities (Coffey et al., 2014; Vickers, 2009). Discrimination against disabled workers appears to be a widespread problem, so laws have been passed in first world countries addressing this issue (Australia in 1992, France in 1987, UK in 1995, USA 1990) (Parlalis, 2013).
The employment of people with disabilities has been the subject of significant research worldwide (Bakula, Kovacevic, Sarilar, Palijan and Kovac, 2011; Caceres and Caceres, 2015; Coffey et al., 2014; Fabian, Beveridge and Ethridge, 2009; Folguera, 2014; Graf, Marini and Blankeship, 2009; Hashim and Wok 2014; Hernandez and McDonald, 2010; Roessler, Rumrill, Hennessey, Nissen, Neath, 2011; Snyder et al., 2010; Vickers, 2009; Vornholt, Uitdewilligen, and Nijhuis, 2013), Cyprus has no such research on the subject because Cyprus' government seems reluctant to fund it. Disability research would reveal what issues disabled people face today, and on the other hand, enforcement of disability law would be facilitated (Disability Act N.127(I)/2000) enabling employers to penalize discrimination against employees with disabilities or to create incentives for employing them. Cyprus is culturally and legally similar to the United Kingdom (UK) and Greece, where people with disabilities have low employment rates and are placed in positions that are much lower than what their skills, education, and experiences would suggest. According to ANED (2013), in the UK, 31.4% of disabled people are employed compared to 68.1% of non-disabled people. Moreover, 46.3% of disabled persons in Greece are employed, while 76.4% of non-disabled persons are employed. Between 1878 and 1914, Cyprus was a former British protectorate, following which it was a British colony before achieving independence in 1960 (Hardy, 2014). This is reflected through the British influence in the current infrastructure (buildings, governmental processes), as well as in the following of common law (Yesilada, 2016). Greece and Cyprus share many similarities culturally as they share a common language, a similar religion, as well as heritage (customs, traditions) (Papadopoulos et al., 2016).
According to unofficial statistics associated with employment in Cyprus retrieved from associated organizations, including the Department of Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, about 12,000 disabled individuals are registered as unemployed (which is approximately 16% of the overall unemployed people- 75,000- among the 428,000 people who are categorized as the working-age population) (Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance, 2013). Therefore, it was reasonable to deduce that Cyprus had comparable conditions; hence, this study investigated whether the type of disability and level of education predict the wage levels of disabled people in Cyprus.
Firstly, it’s imperative to describe what society understands disability to be; a person with a disability has a physical or mental impairment which has a noticeable effect on the person’s ability to carry out daily activities. In this article, a more in-depth look at this group of people is provided to see if the level of education and nature of impairment could influence their wage levels (as it appeared in other countries with similar cultural and legal environments). This work is being carried out in a bid to improving the way of life of the disabled working class, by giving them a voice and also creating more opportunities for them in their respective societies. A correlational and regression analysis was used and primary data were collected from 117 questionnaire respondents (2.25% sample) procured online from Qualtrics, which is used by approximately 6,000 registered members with disabilities. For statistical analysis, the collected data were classified into paraplegia, quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, dystrophy, visual impairments, hearing impairments, and neurological disabilities. The research question with the relative hypothesis were developed as follows:
RQ. Does the type of disability and level of education predict the wage levels of disabled people in Cyprus?
H0- Type of disability and education do not significantly predict the wage levels of people with disabilities in Cyprus.
Ha- Type of disability and education significantly predict the wage levels of people with disabilities in Cyprus.
Research has been conducted in various geographical areas in the past several decades pertaining to issues that are important to disabled people, such as workplace discrimination, obstacles to employment, attitudes and perceptions at work, societal perceptions, and workplace support. (Coffey et al., 2014; Fabian et al., 2009; Graf et al., 2009; Hashim and Wok, 2014; McMahon et al., 2008; Roessler et al., 2011; Shinohara and Wobbrock, 2011; Snyder et al., 2010; Solovieva et al., 2010; Vickers, 2009). In a few studies, the overall well-being of disabled people and their life was the primary focus (i.e. Bakula, et., al., 2011; Bingham, et., al., 2013), whereas others focused on employment barriers, such as salary, support, career development, and training (Coffey, et al, 2014; Malo and Pagan, 2012; Solovieva et al., 2010), but few examined employment and underemployment among disabled people. (such as Vormolt, et., al. (2013). Even though there is some related research, there is little exploration of the actual unemployment and underemployment of disabled citizens, especially in Europe. A similar study is nonexistent in Cyprus, except for the work of Parlalis in 2013, whose study was a review of the employment laws in Cyprus, rather than exposing the actual discriminatory barriers that caused unemployment and underemployment.
As it appears, the topic is a sensitive one itself, nonetheless, the concept to shed more light on certain wrong notions that people hold with regards to treating persons with disabilities is discussed in this paper. As the UK Equality Act of 2010 (Sargeant et al., 2016), section 6(1) has it, half of the persons with disabilities in this country are being paid meager wages and salaries contrary to what their counterparts receive (Coffey, Coufopoulos and Kinghorn, 2014; Parlalis, 2013; Shinohara and Wobbrock, 2011). Among these demeaning acts is also the issue of segregation constantly thrown at them at work (Parodi and Sciulli, 2012). Apart from the meager payment, this group of people also face certain limitations in terms of employment opportunities, they’re being restrained from doing the work of their choice, and only left with two options; one is at the service sector, and the other is factory work, both of which yield minimal returns in terms of wages and salaries (Ababneh, 2016; Cábelková, 2015; Thianthai, 2014; Schur, Kruse, Blasi, and Blanck, 2009; Sliwicki and Rêklewski, 2014; US Census Bureau, 2008).
In addition to this is the ever-widening gap between the salaries of the disabled and non-disabled individuals presenting with the same education level (Yin, 2015). These disparities are baseless and unnecessary, and most importantly will be discouraging for people with disabilities. The data garnered from the American Institutes for Research in the year 2015 gives the following breakdown; -Disabled workers with high school certificate earn $22,966 while those without disability earn $29,471, and -Disabled workers with a Master’s degree earn a yearly income of $66,899 while their counterparts earn $87,771 (Yin, 2015).
Furthermore, it’s most likely for a disabled person to be employed in a very degrading job (Hastings, 2012). The reason is that these employers believe the disabled won’t be efficient human resources that will generate revenue, but rather, they will become liabilities to the employer and the company (Bjelland et al., 2010). Having this understanding, it must be clarified to society that there’s a crying need to stop all forms of segregation and shaming of this particular group of people. Society should see them as theirs, and look out for them. Workplace discrimination should be eliminated. It should be added that the society will live in must be egalitarian enough in their approach to every issue regarding its people, whether the disabled or the non-disabled. A research carried out in 2014 made it known that the percentage of disabled workers underpaid is higher than those with no disability (Coffey et al., 2014), and it’s the same story for those that receive salaries higher than the minimum wage stated for that time. The above tells one that disabled individuals have been ill-treated (Yin, 2015; Yin, Shaewitz, and Megra; 2014).
It is not possible to predict individuals' wage levels in Cyprus by their disability type. According to the above finding, disabled people have equal chances of advancement when employed, regardless of the type of disability they have. Disability-related wage levels are significantly influenced by education in Cyprus. Furthermore, disability type significantly relates to the employment status of disabled persons in Cyprus, but disability type and education cannot forecast the occupation status or wages of disabled individuals in Cyprus. Additionally, education appears to predict the occupational status and salary levels of disabled individuals in Cyprus, as it does with many other groups of workers globally.
Academics and practitioners alike will find these results highly significant. In terms of academics, results reveal a research gap and indicate that future research on disabilities and employment needs to be conducted, as recommended in the recommendations for future research. In order for practitioners to provide disabled people with both the incentives and the opportunities for employment and career advancement, they will need to invest in educational programs (academic or vocational). In order to improve their overall performance and effectiveness, organizations employing people with disabilities may consider re-engineering their policies, structures and practices in order to better utilize their disabled workers. In order to achieve the above, management and staff -including colleagues of disabled people - must be made more aware and understand physical disability issues in various levels.
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