Disability Segregation in Volunteer Work

Abstract

People with disabilities in the United States experience different types of paid work than people without disabilities; however, less is known about patterns in voluntary work—another form of productive labor that takes place within organizations. This study uses the Volunteer Supplement of the Current Population Survey to evaluate disability segregation in volunteer organizations and activities. Net of sociodemographic characteristics, volunteers with disabilities have lower odds than volunteers without disabilities of participating in educational/youth organizations and sport/hobby/cultural organizations, and higher odds of participating in social/community organizations. Furthermore, volunteers with disabilities have lower odds of participating in professional or coaching/teaching/mentoring activities and higher odds of participating in distribution activities—suggesting less access to leadership roles and opportunities for skill development. Finally, indices of dissimilarity indicate higher levels of segregation by disability status than by gender, race, or ethnicity. Volunteer work—like paid work—is stratified by disability, mirroring broader patterns of inequality.