Introduction

This chapter discusses the employment situation of people with disabilities at the global level, focusing on the role that employment can play in improving their livelihoods and on the barriers to their entry into the labour market. It highlights why it is important for people with disabilities to actively participate in the labour market, employing a largely descriptive approach and drawing on the previous literature. The issues raised in this chapter will be further discussed in the subsequent chapters, which will feature original empirical studies. In this sense, the main purpose of this chapter is to present a global picture of the employment situation of people with disabilities and to set forth a structural and thematic roadmap for the book. The rest of the chapter is organized as follows: Section 2 outlines the perceived advantages of employment; Section 3 focuses on labour force participation and occupational choice; Section 4 discusses some of the barriers to entry for people with disabilities looking to enter the labour market and the final section offers some conclusions.

The value of jobs to people with disabilities

Employment is equally important to all people – without it, social inclusion and economic independence are unlikely to be achieved. Among the crucial social functions that employment can facilitate are financial independence and social inclusion. It has also been found to improve social status, provide social support and enable workers to make a contribution, thereby leading to an increase in self-worth (O'Day and Killeen 2002). Employment has the potential to improve a person's financial situation, open up opportunities for social contact, build (new) friendships and increase people's self-esteem. By contrast, unemployment can cause not only poverty and social exclusion but also result in a lower sense of self-worth.

Linn, Sandifer and Stein (1985) studied the effect of unemployment on physical health and found that symptoms of somatization disorder, depression and anxiety were significantly greater in unemployed than employed individuals. As employment brings different benefits including direct income, the lack of a job may have an adverse impact on psychological function.