When ableism and sexism interact

This piece aligns with our Intersectionality eBook: A practical guide to creating an inclusive workplace. Researched and written by the Shape Talent team, January 2025.

“When you dig into annual reports on EDI, you often don’t see a metric of how many people have a disability, either because 1. it is such a small number, and it cannot be disclosed without breaching confidentiality 2. employees fear self-identifying in case of retaliation or 3. they would be willing to disclose but do not know that invisible disabilities like autism, ADHD, depression or chronic anxiety actually qualify as a disability. The result: small numbers and an inaccurate reflection of disability in the workplace.” — Women at Work, Harvard Business Review, Season 9, Episode 2 Navigating Your Career When You Have a Disability

Albeit not homogenous, the experiences of women and marginalised genders with disabilities in the workplace present a series of frequently experienced disparities.  This disparity arises from a combination of factors including societal stigma, discrimination and lack of accommodation – but also significantly invisibility. Women and marginalised genders with disabilities are also disproportionately overlooked both in efforts to advance the rights of persons with disabilities as well as in initiatives aimed at promoting women’s rights, including those addressing workplace inclusion.[1]

In this context, it is also important to note how the medical model views disability as an individual issue requiring treatment, whereas the social model of disability highlights societal and structural barriers as the primary challenges. The latter understanding is crucial as part of an intersectional approach towards an inclusive workplace. In this context, a mention of crip theory – which critiques societal binaries that position “able-bodied” and “disabled” as opposites and challenging ableism and rigid norms – is useful to inform a more inclusive and fluid understanding of bodies, identities, and abilities. [2] Additionally, introducing the distinction between visible disabilities, such as mobility impairments, and invisible disabilities, like mental health conditions or chronic illnesses, is necessary to help challenge assumptions and ensure diverse needs are recognised and accommodated.

Hiring, working and earning

The unemployment rate for disabled people is disproportionately high compared to other marginalised groups: according to the 2024 UN Disability and Development Report only 27% of disabled people are employed, compared to 56% of non-disabled people.[5] In the UK, workers with disabilities face an unemployment rate that is twice as high as that of non-disabled individuals, a statistic that mirrors trends across Europe. For disabled women the discrepancy in unemployment is even more stark. Disabled women are less likely to secure full-time employment compared to men with disabilities, women without disabilities, and non-disabled men; in the European Union only 20% of women with disabilities are in full-time employment, in contrast to 29% of men with disabilities, 48% of women without disabilities, and 64% of men without disabilities.[6] Depending on the specific disability, the rate of unemployment can be even higher. For example, the unemployment rate for autistic people in the UK can reach as high as 78%, while in the U.S. the number rises to 85%. [7]

Additionally, disabled workers are more likely to be employed on precarious contracts, a reality that becomes even more complex when considered under an intersectional lens. Disabled Black women in the UK are nearly three times more likely to be employed on a zero-hour contract than non-disabled white men.

The difficulties disabled employees face in securing stable employment are often a direct result of discrimination and a lack of accommodations during the hiring process. While some organisations have adapted their hiring processes to be more accessible, many application procedures and interview processes remain overwhelmingly designed for able-bodied and neurotypical success. Standardized hiring criteria, often embedded with ableist assumptions, can disadvantage candidates with disabilities. For example, interviews frequently value social charisma and presentation abilities, including eye contact, which may exclude neurodivergent individuals, such as those with autism, from succeeding.

In the context of ableism, sexism, and heteronormativity, the hiring process becomes even more challenging for women and marginalised genders with disabilities. The hiring managers’ own biases and stereotypes contribute to the interlocking discrimination that holds women and marginalised genders with disabilities back in their careers. Women with disabilities are disproportionately affected by stereotypes, with a total of 63% of disabled women affected in comparison of 51% of non-disabled women reporting similar experiences.[8]

Several reports have tracked the real implications of these stereotypes, with a 2020 report on UK employers revealing that 50% of managers surveyed admitted they would not hire neurodivergent candidates, with the highest levels of bias toward conditions like Tourette’s and ADHD.[9]

Disability accommodation

Many workplaces fail to provide appropriate accommodations for disabilities, making retention and long-term success difficult. Barriers can present as insufficient paid leave and sick leave policies, but the barrier can also manifest as physical barriers. For example, as inaccessible meeting spaces for wheelchair users or office environments that fail to account for hypersensitivity, such as open-plan offices that create overstimulating surroundings for neurodivergent employees or people with a hearing impairment, or lack of reasonable accommodations or assistive technologies. As a result, individuals with neurodiversity may feel compelled to engage in “neurotypical passing,” “masking,” or “camouflaging” behaviours.[10] For example, this could involve attending a networking event despite being overwhelmed by loud noises. This approach, which places the responsibility on employees with a neurodivergence to adapt to a neurotypical environment, is harmful. It not only exacerbates their everyday work challenges but also leads to burnout and, in some cases, job loss.

The gendered disability pay gap

The disability pay gap intersects with the gender pay gap, with disabled women experiencing one of the harshest pay penalties, in part because women with disabilities are disproportionately concentrated in lower-paid and part time roles. In turn, this also exacerbates the leadership gap for women with disabilities. Disabled women’s pay penalty in the UK is 30% higher compared to that of their male peers.[11] This pay gap has been found to be persistent throughout disabled women’s careers.  This wage gap underscores the ongoing barriers disabled women face, both in entering and progressing within the workforce.

Disclosing disability

To disclose or not to disclose a disability in the workplace is a significant consideration for all workers with disabilities. However, disabled men and women report different reasons for not disclosing their disability to employers. Many disabled workers fear that sharing this information could lead to negative stereotypes and doubts about their capabilities. Disabled women, in particular, are more likely than men to cite concerns such as losing their job, lack of employer support, unfair treatment, and doubts about their ability to perform their role. In turn, reflecting consideration of their intersection positionality and fear of interlocking and mutually reinforcing discrimination.

Microaggressions and sexual harassment

Disabled women face disproportionately high levels of microaggressions and sexual harassment, reflecting the power imbalances they must navigate in the workplace and society.  A total of 61% of women with disabilities experience microaggressions, compared to 50% of their non-disabled peers.

The United Nations has also over time well documented how disabled women face gender-based violence at disproportionately high rates, often in unique forms due to overlapping discrimination based on gender and disability. These experiences are related to perceptions of, and infantilising of, disabled women in public. UN consultations have also found that “the bodies of women with disabilities are often deemed to belong to others, to be public property, such that decision-making is removed from the person concerned, including about whether, when and how to control contact”. [12] For example, blind women frequently cite inappropriate touching from people who offer help, similarly, women wheelchair users report people pushing their chairs without consent — in turn, showing distinct difference in what is considered appropriate physical behaviours around able-bodied and disabled women. These dynamics translate into the workplace. Polling in the UK has shown that nearly 7 in 10 (68%) of disabled women have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work, compared to around half (52%) of women overall.[13] Younger disabled women are at even greater risk, with almost 4 in 5 (78%) reporting workplace sexual harassment.[14] Despite these findings, limited research exists on workplace sexual harassment of disabled women, with two-thirds opting not to report such incidents to their employer or supervisor. [15] Given the already precarious workplace experiences of disabled women, and low employment numbers which culminate into a well-founded fear of retaliation, these reporting numbers are unsurprisingly low.

References

[1] https://hbr.org/podcast/2023/10/navigating-your-career-when-you-have-a-disability
[2] https://hbr.org/podcast/2023/10/navigating-your-career-when-you-have-a-disability
[3] https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Discussion-paper-Sexual-harassment-against-women-with-disabilities-en.pdf
[4] https://doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2023.2179108
[5] https://social.desa.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/2024-06/Final-UN-DDR-2024-Executive%20Summary.pdf
[6] https://www.edf-feph.org/2023-eu-gender-equality-index-women-with-disabilities-still-left-behind/#:~:text=What%20do%20we%20find%20about,population%20aged%2015%2D89).
[7] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/articles/outcomesfordisabledpeopleintheuk/2020
[8] https://social.desa.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/2024-06/Final-UN-DDR-2024-Executive%20Summary.pdf
[9] https://leadership.global/resourceLibrary/half-of-all-leaders-and-managers-would-not-employ-a-neurodivergent-person.html
[10] https://hbr.org/2021/12/autism-doesnt-hold-people-back-at-work-discrimination-does
[11] https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-slams-zero-progress-disability-pay-gap-last-decade
[12] https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Discussion-paper-Sexual-harassment-against-women-with-disabilities-en.pdf
[13] https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-07/DisabledWomenSexual%20harassmentReport.pdf
[14] https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-07/DisabledWomenSexual%20harassmentReport.pdf
[15] https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-07/DisabledWomenSexual%20harassmentReport.pdf

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