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Bias in the WorkplaceSchein(1982) confirms most of the employment results for deaf people in the USA. Stinson(1970) suggests underemployment arises because of poor self-image, though given the problems of stress and pressure from hearing society, the low self-esteem is likely to be a product rather than a cause. Christiansen(1982) attributes the underemployment of Deaf people to the change in the economy from a base in manufacturing to a base in service industry. Deaf people are simply not represented well in services. He concludes: "In general, it appears that in order to secure a given job in the labour force, a deaf person must be better educated, and more qualified, than a hearing person vying for the same position." Christiansen(1982, p. 19) Significantly there are differences between white and non-white Deaf people in employment with the latter less likely to be employed and likely to earn much less(Christiansen and Barnart, 1987). Jones and Pullen(1987) in the first part of a major study of Deaf people in Europe broadly confirm these findings in the perception of Deaf people. They found evidence of underemployment, thwarted ambition and even occupational segregation, attributed to the type of expectancies built up by schooling. Interestingly, they found that jobs were usually acquired through personal contacts rather than on the open market or through the rehabilitation or job-finding agencies. This might be a factor in Deaf people becoming "stuck" in one level of employment as it is difficult to see how their employment needs could have been adequately evaluated in that situation. The picture of employment is therefore not a happy one in many respects and constitutes a great waste of potential. (Remember hearing loss does not produce a decrease in intellectual capacity and so Deaf people will be just as cognitively competent in intelligence as hearing people). The reasons for such problems would normally be considered to be in education and most investigators have considered this a major factor. |
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