Originally published here.

According to the 2014 U.S. Census Bureau’s (CB) American Community Survey, the population of people of working age living with a disability (PLWD) is estimated at nearly 19.8 million. For PLWD,the employment rate is 34.6% compared to 77.6% of non-disabled people [1]. Among PLWD who are employed, the highest rate of employment is among people with a hearing disability at 51.2%, while the lowest rate is among people with a self-care disability at 15.5% [1]. Self-care disability is described by the CB as difficulty dressing or bathing and is linked to activities like difficulty navigating one’shome, getting in and out of bed, dressing, eating, or using the toilet [2]. These figures suggest that there is a significant portion of PLWD of working age, able to perform daily activities without assistance, and able to seek and hold employment.

According to Haegele and Hodge [3], there are two main models of disability. The first is the medical model of disability, which is defined as an impairment of the body or its functions resulting from a medical or individual incident. The second is the social model of disability, which focuses on the social restriction placed on the body impairment. In other words, it is not the disability that prevents a person from fully participating in society, rather, it is society that creates barriers for participation.Impairment can be classified as lacking all or part of a limb, a defect within a limb, lacking body motility, or restricted activity due to lack of accommodation allowing full participation in society [4].

Therefore, this research chose to use the social model of disability when exploring the issues concerning the social barriers facing PLWD; it is important for those barriers to be contextualized from the lens of the relationship between the person with the impairment and the society.

Particularly, it is suggested that lack of appropriate clothing might be one key social barrier of PLWD’s workplace participation [5]. Workplace participation affords everyone, including PLWD, the opportunity to gain economic, emotional, and social benefits. For PLWD, workplace participation improves not only their economic status but also their social and psychological status, making them feel they have purpose [6,7].

However, for many PLWD, access to acceptable and appropriate clothingserves as a barrier to full participation in the workplace. That is, PLWD may feel unsuccessful intheir occupations because of their lack of acceptable and appropriate clothing. Lack of acceptable and appropriate clothing can make PLWD feel as if they are not taken seriously in the workplace and candraw more attention to their disability, causing further stigmatization [9,10].

PLWD build self-efficacy through interaction and social feedback, including within theworkplace. When PLWD encounter negative social feedback within the workplace, they mayexperience stigma associated with their disability causing them to feel as if their disability preventsthem from full participation in Society. Clothing can protect PLWD from stigma and enhance their self-efficacy, especially if they can find appropriate and acceptable clothing

Despite the potential impact of clothing on stigma and self-efficacy of PLWD, little is known about how theyaffect workplace participation for PLWD. Specifically, the impact of clothing on PLWD’s workplaceparticipation have not been discussed within the social model of disability perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how the barriers to social participation, specifically workplaceparticipation, faced by PLWD are exacerbated by the lack of appropriate clothing, and how this lack of  appropriate clothing may lead to increased feelings of stigma and decreased self-efficacy. The findings of the study are expected to shed light on how clothing plays a role in PLWD’s social participation, especially workplace participation, and to demonstrate the need for availability of appropriate clothing for PLWD, which can improve their feeling of self-efficacy and decrease their stigma.

It is suggested that PLWD continue to face barriers to societal participation, including workplace participation, yet our understanding of the depth and breadth of these barriers has been limited. In particular, the role of clothing as a barrier to workplace participation has been little explored in the literature.

To address the gap in our understanding, this study was designed to explore the issuesconcerning social participation for PLWD, particularly, their workplace participation. In addition,the role of stigma, self-efficacy, and clothing in workplace participation was investigated througha qualitative exploration of their experiences. The study provides results which show two main themes, as described by the study participants.

First, they want to participate in the workplace because, while disability itself limits opportunities, work in general defines their identities and allows themextra social opportunities. At the same time, because of their disability, they experience both publicand self-stigma, both of which question their self-efficacy. However, when they have appropriately professional clothing, their self-efficacy is enhanced, and their self-stigma is decreased.

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