The world of work is often an inhospitable and unpleasant place for people who have
disabilities, in part because they find themselves up against the barriers of a world which usually
favors abled folks, and in part because when it comes down to it, representation just isn’t there.
However, if any tangible proof was needed that there is inequality in the world, then it would be
this – scientists in the US who have a disability make roughly $14,000 less than those people
who do not have a disability. As a figure, it’s frankly shocking, and it really is just the tip of the
iceberg when we explore the issue further.
Those scientists who do suffer from a disability are found to make less thanks to an analysis
conducted which examined the salaries and earning power of 80,000 doctoral graduates in a
range of STEM fields. Interestingly, the study also found that academics who had a disability
which developed in later life did not experience a lack of salary but did face the prospect of early
retirement if their employment no longer accommodated them, but we digress.
The study found that roughly 700,000 people who received a PhD between 1973 and 2017 are
still working in the STEM fields. This number does include people who reported a disability from
early on in life – before they reached 25 – and those who reported their disability began after 25.
Roughly 30% of these people are thought to work in academic professions.
So, why is this the case? Why are we seeing such a drop in the salary of people who are
disabled and working in a STEM field? Well, it could be due to a lack of representation at the
higher levels. There are many people who are simply not able to get tenure or access well-
funded research projects on account of their disability, which is upsetting, to say the least. There
is some idle speculation that these salary drops are reflective of the money spent to
accommodate disabled people but this would be grossly unfair if it was true.
Frankly, this concept is rather sad and does serve to highlight the modern attitude towards
people with disabilities in corporate America – and by extension, most of the world. There is
absolutely no reason why someone with a disability should be paid any less for the work that
they do, and to assume that they are entitled to less is a very backwards ideology.
Part of the work that we need to do in the world is to try and close the wage gap in places where
people are earning less because they have a disability. When we help people earn a more
equal wage and work to do more, we find ourselves in a better society, and one step closer to
realizing our goals of creating a world where everyone, regardless of their disability, can thrive.