Still Stuck: An Examination of the Early Paid Employment Experiences of Young Women With Disabilities

Abstract

Young women with disabilities tend to experience poorer postschool employment outcomes than young men with disabilities and their peers without disabilities. Paid work experiences while in high school have been identified as significantly increasing the likelihood of later employment, yet few recent studies have examined the early employment experiences of young women with disabilities. This study reports the characteristics of paid employment experiences of 134 young women with disabilities. Findings indicate that fewer young women in our sample had paid work experience than young women nearly 20 years ago, and that early employment patterns are reflective of gendered employment patterns documented in adulthood. Implications for educators and service providers include collaboration across multiple systems and a need for gender-specific interventions.