Disparities In Employment Research Articles

Predictors of community-based employment for young adults with intellectual disability and co-occurring mental health conditions

Purpose To identify predictors of community-based employment and employment quality for young adults ages 23–30 with intellectual disability and co-occurring mental health conditions (YA-ID-MH). Methods We conducted secondary analysis of the 2017–2018 National Core Indicators® (NCI®) In-Person Survey. The NCI® survey was conducted in 35 states and Washington DC. Participants: YA with ID, ages 23–30 who had complete data. We conducted multiple regression analyses to examine demographic and environmental predictors of community-based employment, in addition to employment quality indicators: hourly wages, hours worked, and job duration. We also descriptively examined job satisfaction. Results YA-ID-MH were somewhat less likely to be employed per record review and self-report than YA with ID only, but these findings did not reach statistical significance. On average, YA with ID only had higher hourly wages and worked more hours than those with ID-MH, but there were no significant differences in job duration. For YA-ID-MH, predictors of employment included gender, race, level of ID, and residential setting. Multiple demographic and environmental factors predicted employment quality. Conclusions YA-ID-MH experience employment disparities compared to YA with ID only. Service providers should specifically attend to those at the highest risk of unemployment/low quality employment. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health conditions (ID-MH) experience employment disparities. Young adults with ID-MH who are non-white and female may have particularly low employment rates and employment quality. Societal-level interventions to address racial and gender-based bias may support individuals with ID-MH to acquire and maintain jobs by addressing disparities in social networks/social capital and ensuring equitable service provision and supports for those at the highest risk for unemployment. Policy makers should consider additional funding for employment services for transition-age youth with ID-MH, particularly those from marginalized populations.

The Roots of Structural Racism in the United States and their Manifestations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the disproportionate morbidity and mortality borne by racial minorities, patients of lower socioeconomic status, and patients lacking health insurance reflect pre-existing structural inequities. Structural racism is racial discrimination rooted in history, perpetuated through policies, and manifested in disparities in healthcare, housing, education, employment, and wealth. Although these disparities exert greater impacts on health outcomes than do genetics or behavior, scientists, and policy makers are only beginning to name structural racism as a key determinant of population health and take the necessary steps to dismantle it. In radiology, structural racism impacts how imaging services are utilized. Here we review the history and policies that contribute to structural racism and predispose minority and disadvantaged communities to inferior outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to identify policy changes that could promote more equitable access to radiologic services.

Patterns of Childcare Use for Young Children within Women’s Work/Family Pathways: A Group-Based Multi-Trajectory Modeling Approach

Abstract Approximately 65 percent of US mothers with children aged six and under are employed. Although their ability to maintain employment generally depends on nonparental childcare, childcare has been relatively little-studied as it relates to mothers’ employment in the United States. With the NLSY97 (N = 2,108), I track childcare use, employment, second births, and coresidential partnership among women who are initially employed following a first birth. I use Group-Based Multi-Trajectory Modeling to identify the five most common pathways by which women combine and sequence these behaviors. I investigate the sociodemographic characteristics predicting each pathway. Three groups of women maintain high or moderate employment and make high use of childcare while their children are young: highly employed, partnered mothers who have a second birth (closely aligned with the privileged “having it all” norm); highly employed mothers of one child, about half of whom are single; and moderately employed (some full-time, some part-time) primarily single mothers who have a second birth. Two groups of women make less use of childcare when initially employed: partnered mothers who have a second birth and largely exit the labor force (closely aligned with the privileged “stay-at-home-mom” norm), and primarily single mothers with some part-time employment and one child. White and Hispanic women, and those with Bachelor’s degrees, are most likely to mirror the “having it all” norm. White women and those with Bachelor’s degrees are most likely to mirror the “stay-at-home mom” norm. I argue that improved access to adequate, affordable childcare could help to offset gender, socioeconomic, and race/ethnic employment disparities in the United States.

Structural Racism and Micronesians in Hawaii: The COVID-19 Syndemic

By August 2020, non-Hawaiian Pacific Islanders—4% of Hawaii’s population—accounted for 30% of the cumulative COVID-19 cases in the state. Micronesians, mostly Chuukese and Marshallese, were the most severely affected. Disproportionate COVID-19 infection in racial or ethnic groups in the US occur because of socioeconomic factors. The COVID-19 pandemic can be thought of as a syndemic–where cases cluster “on a background of social and economic disparity”. In this brief report, we describe factors that put Chuukese and Marshallese at increased risk for COVID-19 in Hawaii. We show that Micronesians had increased risk for COVID-19 due to limited employment opportunities, housing insecurity, and underlying comorbid conditions in the context of rescinded federal health insurance and broken government promises. We also highlight the resiliency that many community members demonstrated in preventing new infections and supporting those infected. We conclude that COVID-19 in Hawaii should be understood as a syndemic, where Micronesians were disproportionately affected due to disparities in housing, employment, and health access. Our work supports efforts to continue addressing underlying socioeconomic disparities in creating a more equitable future for our Micronesian community in Hawaii.

"We've Got Our Own Beliefs, Attitudes, Myths": A Mixed Methods Assessment of Rural South African Health Care Workers' Knowledge ofand Attitudes Towards PrEP Implementation.

South Africa maintains the world's largest HIV prevalence, accounting for 20.4% of people living with HIV internationally. HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has demonstrated efficacy; however, there is limited data on PrEP implementation in South Africa, particularly in rural areas. Using grounded theory analysis of semi-structured interviews and exploratory factor analyses of structured surveys, this mixed methods study examines healthcare workers' (HCWs)' beliefs about their patients and the likelihood of PrEP uptake in their communities. The disproportionate burden of HIV among Black South Africans is linked to the legacy of apartheid and resulting disparities in wealth and employment. HCWs in our study emphasized the importance of addressing these structural barriers, including increased travel burden among men in the community looking for work, poor transportation infrastructure, and limited numbers of highly skilled clinical staff in their rural community. HCWs also espoused a vision of PrEP that prioritizes women due to perceived constraints on their sexual agency, and thatminimizes the impact of HIV-related stigma on PrEP implementation. However, HCWs' additional concerns for risk compensation may reflect dominant social mores around sexual behavior. In recognition of HCWs' role as both informants and community members, implementation scientists should invite local HCWs to partner as early as the priority-setting stage for PrEP interventions. Inviting leadership from local HCWs may increase the likelihood of delivery plans that account for unique local context and structural barriers researchers may otherwise struggle to uncover.

Recommendations for Pre-Service Training in Cognitive Disabilities: Perceptions of Practicing Rehabilitation Counselors

Given an increased prevalence of cognitive disabilities in the United States, and federal legislation aimed to reduce employment disparities among individuals with cognitive disabilities, a greater emphasis on this population is needed in rehabilitation counselor education (RCE) programs. A total of 33 graduates of a Cognitive Disabilities Certificate program were asked to offer recommendations for future training of Master's-level rehabilitation counseling students in the area of cognitive disabilities. A phenomenological approach was applied, using the constant comparative method for data analysis. Analysis resulted in four emergent themes. Participants recommended pedagogical approaches to incorporate cognitive disability-related issues into RCE curriculum; specialized training on cognitive disabilities should be required; and specialized training in other disability populations was also recommended. Lastly, participants discussed the need to provide specialized training on sub-populations such as autism spectrum disorder, military veterans, and persons with co-occurring psychiatric and cognitive disabilities. Implications for pedagogy and research are provided.

Contribution of unequal new patient referrals to female surgeon under-employment

BackgroundThe literature shows that female surgeons have lower operative volumes than male surgeons. Since volume is dependent on new patient referrals for most surgeons, inequities in referrals may contribute to this employment disparity. MethodsUsing 1997–2018 data from a large medical center, we examined the number of new patient referrals for surgeons. Multivariate linear analysis was performed, adjusting for surgeon race, calendar year, seniority, and clinical subspecialty. ResultsA total of 121 surgeons across 12,410 surgeon-months were included. Overall, surgeons had a median of 14 new patient referrals per month (interquartile range (IQR) = 7, 27). On adjusted analysis, female surgeons saw 5.4 fewer new patient referrals per month (95% CI -6.4 to −4.5). ConclusionFemale surgeons, with equal training and seniority, received fewer new patient referrals than their male peers, and this may contribute to female surgeon under-employment. Surgeon gender may be one of the factors contributing to this differential referral pattern.

The role of NPO Yamanashi Foodbank alleviating food insecurity of the Japanese poor mother-child households

The relative poverty of Japanese mother-child households in Japan is increasing and has complex factors. This study based on qualitative methods and using secondary data from Japan’s national government survey, electronic articles, scientific journals, blogs, videos, and social media. Wage and employment disparities are the main causes of mother-child households living in poverty; a liberal labour system also makes it difficult for mothers to obtain stable employment. The patriarchal structure of Japanese society and lack of public assistance adds to the difficulty of mother-child households moving out of poverty. Being a single mother in Japan is very difficult because they must balance making a living and taking care of children. The Japanese mother-child households face food insecurity due to a lack of income and a high living cost. NPO Yamanashi Foodbank makes initiatives to donate food to them, ease single mothers’ burden, and save their children from hunger and malnutrition. The analysis results show that Yamanashi Foodbank contributes to innovations in dealing with social changes to poverty and food waste; Yamanashi Foodbank adds problem-solving capacity to Japanese society because the welfare state’s power gradually loses to maximize public assistance.

Gender Disparity in Employment and Wages in Rural Labour Market in Odisha: Some Survey Findings and Empirical Analysis

Gender disparity prevails through various attributes, including gender specificity of agricultural operations, discriminating women in terms of wages, and system of wage payments. This paper employed a t-test to investigate the degree of gender disparity in the rural labour market in Cuttack district of Odisha, covering one irrigated village, Bahalpada, and a non-irrigated village Erancha with a sample of 50 female labourers, 20 male labourers, and ten employers from each village, where irrigation was used as the indicator of agricultural development. The results indicated no significant difference in the days of work available to males and females in farm activities in the irrigated village Bahalpada; however, there was a significant positive difference in male-female labour days in agricultural work non-irrigated village Erancha. Despite non-significant differences in days of employment in farm activities, the gender-based wage differentials persisted and were more pronounced in the non-irrigated village than in irrigated villages.

Statistical Discrimination in a Search Equilibrium Model: Racial Wage and Employment Disparities in the US

Statistical Discrimination in a Search Equilibrium Model: Racial Wage and Employment Disparities in the US

National, Regional, and State Employment Rates of U.S. Adults Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Most information on geographic variations in the employment of U.S. adults who are deaf or hard of hearing comes from the American Community Survey (ACS), which includes few people who are DHH in sparsely populated states. Using nationally representative Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys from 2016-2018, the authors examined national-, regional-, and state-level employment rates of U.S. adults who were DHH and compared these rates with ACS estimates for this population. It was found that the national employment rate for people who were DHH was 51.3%; regional rates ranged from 47.9% to 56.9%, state rates from 36.9% to 68.0%. These figures were comparable to ACS estimates at all geographic levels. These findings indicate that employment disparities are not uniform across the United States for people who are DHH and underscore the need for additional policies in areas where this population experiences low employment.

Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Motivation Among People With Intellectual Disability: "Why They Act".

Social entrepreneurship is a growing trend for people with intellectual disability (ID). This trend reflects a shift in contemporary policy towards entrepreneurship and self-employment as a viable employment option for people with disability in general; a strategy which is intended to promote autonomy and reduce dependence on entitlement-based services as well as to reduce employment disparities and stimulate business and job creation. However, it is not well understood what exactly this means for people with ID involved in social entrepreneurial ventures. This research approached the issue by conducting dyadic interviews to explore the motivations of people with ID who are participating and supported in social entrepreneurship-"why they act." In exploring these motivations, this article investigates push-pull factors, the role of the social mission, and how support influences motivation.

The Gendered Poverty Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Colombia.

Everyone, across borders, race and gender, is affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic—but not equally. In this paper, we examine a burgeoning new literature discussing the employment effects of COVID-19. We explore the extent to which COVID-19 will exacerbate gendered employment disparities, income generation gaps, and, ultimately, poverty gaps, using a simple microsimulation methodology. We test our approach in Colombia, which has implemented an unparalleled number of mitigation measures and has reopened its economy earlier than regional neighbors. We find that COVID-19 increases the poverty headcount to a daunting degree (between 3.0 and 9.1 pp increases). Mitigation measures vary considerably in their individual impact (up to 0.9 pp poverty reduction). A fiscally neutral Universal Basic Income program would cause larger poverty reductions. Importantly, both men and women report similar poverty impacts from the pandemic and mitigation policies, reflecting the magnitude of the downturn, the design of interventions and our own poverty measure.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1057/s41287-020-00328-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Career Development Impacts of COVID-19: Practice and Policy Recommendations

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in drastic changes to employment around the globe. In the present article, we identify four emerging impacts of the pandemic and how career development professionals might respond through policy and practice. Specifically, we focus on four distinct but related domains: unemployment, worker mental health, the work–family interface, and employment disparities. For each domain, we offer recommendations for policy and practice with the hope that career development professionals might reframe the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity for a renewed commitment to supporting worker well-being.

Continuities in Transition: Ethnicity, Language and Labour Market Inequalities in Kyrgyzstan

ABSTRACTEthno‐racial and linguistic boundaries have major implications for socio‐economic well‐being throughout the world, yet their specific effects vary greatly across contexts. The countries that were once part of the Soviet Union have seen dramatic transformations yet also exhibited remarkable continuities from the socialist era. This article contributes to cross‐national evidence on the roots and expressions of ethno‐racial socio‐economic inequalities and on nation building and nationalism in the post‐Soviet context. It uses data from two identically designed nationally representative surveys conducted in Kyrgyzstan in 2011 and 2017 to investigate patterns and trends in ethnic and linguistic disparities in employment by occupational type and economic sector and in earnings among men and women. The authors find that despite government policies to promote the advancement of the nation's titular majority, Kyrgyz, and to encourage the use of its language, the ethno‐linguistic economic inequalities inherited from the Soviet era — privileged positions of the European‐origin minority and of Russian‐speaking Kyrgyz — were still potently present in the earlier survey. While variations in types of occupation and employment sectors tended to diminish between the two surveys, the ethno‐linguistic differences in earnings remained very pronounced, even after controlling for other factors. The authors relate these findings to the extant scholarship and reflect on their implications for our understanding of post‐socialist transitions.

COVID-19 And Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Health Risk, Employment, And Household Composition.

We used data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to explore potential explanations for racial/ethnic disparities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations and mortality. Black adults in every age group were more likely than White adults to have health risks associated with severe COVID-19 illness. However, Whites were older, on average, than Blacks. Thus, when all factors were considered, Whites tended to be at higher overall risk compared with Blacks, with Asians and Hispanics having much lower overall levels of risk compared with either Whites or Blacks. We explored additional explanations for COVID-19 disparities-namely, differences in job characteristics and how they interact with household composition. Blacks at high risk for severe illness were 1.6 times as likely as Whites to live in households containing health-sector workers. Among Hispanic adults at high risk for severe illness, 64.5percent lived in households with at least one worker who was unable to work from home, versus 56.5percent among Black adults and only 46.6percent among White adults.

Special Report: Hispanic Community and COVID-19—Addressing Health Inequalities Can No Longer Be Delayed

<i>Special Report:</i> Hispanic Community and COVID-19—Addressing Health Inequalities Can No Longer Be Delayed

Race and the Geography of Opportunity in the Post-Prison Labor Market.

Research on racial disparities in post-prison employment has primarily focused on the differential effects of stigma on blacks and whites, but we otherwise know little about racial differences. This paper examines racial differences in post-prison employment by industry and geography. We find that the formerly incarcerated are most likely to find work in a small number of "felon-friendly" industries with formerly incarcerated whites having higher employment rates than blacks. Whites are more likely to be employed in felon-friendly industries associated with the primary labor market, particularly construction and manufacturing, which have higher wages and more job stability. To explain these racial differences, we investigate the degree to which employment among the formerly incarcerated is related to where felon-friendly employers are located and where individuals who work in felon-friendly industries live. We find that post-prison employment is associated more with proximity to workers in felon-friendly industries than with proximity to employers. Because formerly incarcerated whites are more likely to live near current workers in felon-friendly industries, the geography of opportunity in the post-prison labor market contributes to the racial disparity in post-prison employment.

The Unintended Consequences of “Ban the Box”: Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories Are Hidden

Jurisdictions across the United States have adopted “ban the box” (BTB) policies preventing employers from asking about job applicants’ criminal records until late in the hiring process. Their goal is to improve employment outcomes for those with criminal records, with a secondary goal of reducing racial disparities in employment. However, removing criminal history information could increase statistical discrimination against demographic groups that include more ex-offenders. We use variation in the timing of BTB policies to test BTB’s effects on employment. We find that BTB policies decrease the probability of employment by 3.4 percentage points (5.1%) for young, low-skilled black men.

The relationship between disability prejudice and disability employment rates.

Despite the ability to and interest in work, people with disabilities are employed at significantly lower rates than nondisabled people. Employment disparities highlight persistent social and cultural stereotypes that equate disability with unemployability. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between employment of people with disabilities and disability prejudice in the United States. This study had the following research question: how does disability prejudice impact state disability employment rates? To explore these questions, we used secondary data about state disability employment (2016), as well as disability prejudice data from 270,000 nondisabled people residing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Findings from this study revealed states with higher disability prejudice scores have lower disability employment rates, suggesting employment disparities are intertwined with disability prejudice. Cultures and systems must be rid of harmful disability stereotypes to ensure people with disabilities can truly partake in their human and civil rights.