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Introduction—Disability and Discrimination Read chapter Read first chapter

2023 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

2. The Nature of Disabilities in the Caribbean

Authors : Jacqueline H. Stephenson, Natalie Persadie

Published in: Disability in the Workplace

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

This chapter will examine the causes of disabilities in the English-speaking Caribbean region and the extent of their impact on the life of the affected person(s), specifically as it relates to employment. In the Caribbean region, the frequently reported causes of disabilities include accidents (work related and vehicular), chronic illnesses (e.g. diabetes) and other health conditions, gun violence and gender-based violence (ECLAC, 2019; Gayle, 2005; World Bank, 2019). Within the context of employment, it has been argued that knowledge of the nature and origin of an individual’s disability, may influence whether and the extent to which a person with disabilities is engaged by an organisation, and treated fairly (Stone & Colella, 1996). Thus, the value of members of this group is assessed through various characteristics including but not limited to their aesthetic qualities, the origin of their disability, the extent to which their disability can be concealed, and whether or not making accommodations for PWD is likely to be disruptive and the potential danger which persons with disabilities are either known to, or, believed to pose.

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previous chapter Introduction—Disability and Discrimination
next chapter Education and Persons with Disabilities in the Caribbean: A Law and Policy Perspective
Footnotes
1
In the case of Trinidad and Tobago’s Equal Opportunity Act (2000), the protected grounds are disability, sex, race, ethnicity, origin, religion and marital status.
 
5
What is the gig economy? (Woodcock & Graham, 2019: 9–10)—The term “gig economy” refers to labour markets that are characterized by independent contracting that happens via and on digital platforms. The kind of work that is offered is contingent: casual and non-permanent work. It may have variable hours and little job security, involve payment on a piece-work basis. This relationship is sometimes termed “independent contracting”, “freelancing” or “temporary work” (‘temp’ for short). The term has also been used to refer to a broader range of activities that happen in both digitally mediated, via platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), Fiverr, Freelancer.com and Upwork, and non-mediated ways (such as bike messengers and cab drivers). Source Woodcock, J., & Graham, M. (2019). The gig economy. A Critical Introduction. Cambridge: Polity.
What are gig workers? (Vallas & Schor, 2020: 275)—Gig workers are those whose services are engaged via platforms and generally performed offline, as in ride-hail, food delivery, home repair and care work. There is a robust market of this type for business, which includes delivery, day-labour, and odd-job tasks. This arrangement affords the provider with flexibility in terms of work schedules and autonomy; however, gig workers must not only assume responsibility for operating costs and risks and forego protections enjoyed by employees but also conform to the temporal rhythms of customer demand, which can reduce their autonomy substantially. Source Vallas, S., & Schor, J. B. (2020). What do platforms do? Understanding the gig economy. Annual Review of Sociology, 46(1), 273–294.
 
6
What is othering? (Mik-Meyer, 2016: 1343)—The othering process refers to the way in which co-workers talk about the impairments of their colleague in an implicit manner by referring to other “different” people. The othering or stereotyping of employees who “differ” from the norm may be done through co-workers’ associations with other people who are (also) constructed as “different”. Able-bodied norms, or “ableism” (Campbell, 2009), inform how co-workers think about a colleague with impairments. Therefore, when co-workers spontaneously associate with people whom they (also) construct as “different”, when answering questions about their particular colleague with impairments (most likely in attempts to avoid reinforcing their colleague’s status as ‘other’), this may be viewed as an othering process. Source Mik-Meyer, N. (2016). Othering, ableism and disability: A discursive analysis of co-workers’ construction of colleagues with visible impairments. Human Relations, 69(6), 1341–1363.
 
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Metadata
Title
The Nature of Disabilities in the Caribbean
Authors
Jacqueline H. Stephenson
Natalie Persadie
Copyright Year
2023
Book
Disability in the Workplace

Print ISBN: 978-3-031-19339-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-19340-8

Copyright Year: 2023

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19340-8_2

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