Breaking Into Business with a Disability
Women with disabilities face a double dose of discrimination in the workplace. By Linda Chase.
First, women contend with a myriad of obstacles in the professional world as women. Research has shown that women face barriers that include lower paychecks, higher rates of sexual harassment, fewer leadership and networking opportunities, and less support of physical health than men do. These issues impact women of color even more than their white counterparts, and to make matters worse, they earn less money than white women: Black and Latina women earn 64 and 54 cents, respectively, for every dollar earned by men, whereas white women earn a still disappointing 79 cents.
Secondly, people with disabilities face bias and barriers all their own. These intersectional struggles play out in the numbers. In 2018, only 28 percent of disabled women were employed compared to 31.7 percent of disabled men and 68.6 percent of non-disabled women. However, employment rates among people with disabilities are slowly increasing, and one sector is leading the charge: business.
Why Business?
The business sector is increasingly dominated by technology and operating remotely, creating an opportunity that’s ripe for women with disabilities to harvest. Businesses are also starting to realize the economic benefits of diversity and what people with disabilities add to the table in terms of creativity, resilience, and problem-solving.
This is especially true in industries like technology, financial services, and healthcare, but women with disabilities are also starting and running businesses of their own. When women launch businesses, they carve out their own place in the economy, rather than battling for a seat at a male-dominated table.
All of this makes it an exciting time to be a young, disabled woman in America. But what does it really take to find success in the business sector? After all, while owning your own business may seem more inviting than other fields, there are still more women with disabilities who are unemployed than employed.
Best Degrees for Women with Disabilities
If you’re a young woman looking to break into business, where should you start? These business careers are not only well adapted to life with a physical disability, they’re also degree programs that are in demand and can readily be completed online.
Accounting
Average salary: $54,588
Business/E-business management
Average salary: $72,313
Finance
Average salary: $66,856
Healthcare management
Average salary: $92,352
Human resource management
Average salary: $72,244
Marketing
Average salary: $49,844
Organizational leadership
Average salary: $77,523
Project management
Average salary: $81,666
Tips for Getting Hired in Business
Earning credentials is only the first hurdle — and arguably the easiest one. While most colleges have centers to support students with disabilities, the job market can be a much less accommodating place.
Pursue an internship
Getting hired as a new grad is challenging enough. Add being a woman with a disability to being new, and you’ll need to enter the job market with every advantage possible. That’s why it’s so important for young women in business to pursue college internships. Internships build resumes and relevant experience, but most importantly, internships provide an opportunity to network. When students build relationships with employers through networking, they fight back against the bias that keeps women with disabilities from getting hired.
Focus on flexible employers
Internships also help young women discover what they want — and don’t want — in the workplace. For employees, flexibility in the workplace is an important benefit. Flex hours, remote work, condensed workweeks, and job sharing make it easier for employees to manage their life and disability along with a professional career. When searching for your first job, focus on employers with a reputation for valuing diversity and work-life balance.
Know your employment rights
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to disclosing a disability in a job search. However, it’s important to know the law doesn’t require job applicants to disclose a disability, and employers can’t pry into a candidate’s disability status. Employers can only ask whether candidates can perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation. You only need to disclose a disability when and if requesting reasonable accommodation.
What About Starting a Business?
Working at someone else’s company isn’t the only option. When women with disabilities start businesses, they can truly work towards an economy of their own by employing diverse women and treating environmental, community, and human care work with the respect it deserves.
The Chicagoland Entrepreneurship Education for People with Disabilities (CEED) project lists these benefits of entrepreneurship for people with disabilities:
- Participation in mainstream economy.
- Economic growth.
- Promote attitudinal change.
- Improve quality of life.
- Independence, autonomy, and empowerment.
- Accommodations and flexibility.
- Integration and social participation.
Best Businesses for Women with Disabilities
What types of businesses should women with disabilities start? Many disabled entrepreneurs prefer businesses that let them work remotely or operate a business out of their home. Common choices include:
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Caregiving
- Consulting
- Cottage goods
- E-commerce
- Digital marketing
- Search engine optimization
- Social media management
- Web analytics
- Web development and design
How to Get Started in Entrepreneurship
You don’t need a degree to start a business, although a strong background in your field is certainly an asset. However, there are some steps entrepreneurs can’t afford to skip when starting their first business.
Dabble with self-employment
There’s a big difference between being self-employed and being a small business owner with employees of your own. However, being a self-employed freelancer is a great way for young women to learn the ropes of entrepreneurship. Freelancers gain experience in managing clients, invoicing and bookkeeping, marketing, and other core business tasks without the risk or responsibility of employees. While not all industries are cut out for freelancing, jobs like graphic design, web development, and web analytics are in high demand in the freelance marketplace.
Find small business funding
Financing is a major obstacle for entrepreneurs with disabilities and female entrepreneurs alike. Before bootstrapping, women should apply for business loans and grants. There are programs for disabled entrepreneurs, including SBA Community Advantage loans, state programs, and small business loans from nonprofit lenders. Women entrepreneurs also have a variety of grant programs available to them.
Take advantage of online resources
Even when you start small, being your own boss is complicated! There are online resources to help, so take advantage of them. These include the Small Business Administration’s page for people with disabilities, this list of resources for women business owners, and SCORE.org for all types of small business resources, webinars, and local support.
Women can’t create an economy of their own until all women achieve economic empowerment. While women with disabilities are frequently overlooked in conversations about diversity in the workplace, a truly feminist economy is an intersectional one.
To learn more about how women can unlock a stronger economic future, check out the resources at An Economy of Our Own.
Linda Chase created Able Hire to help people with disabilities build rewarding, successful careers. As a person with disabilities herself, Linda understands the challenges people with disabilities face when trying to get hired. She hopes Able Hire will be a resource for people with disabilities seeking jobs and for hiring managers seeking a better understanding of what people with disabilities have to offer. ablehire.org
