Nhan Dan Online- If two women with the same qualifications are compared, the chance of a woman with a disability getting the job she wants is much lower. They face too many invisible and visible barriers to getting good job opportunities that suit their health and abilities. This was shared at the workshop “Women with disabilities and employment opportunities”, organised by the Center for Research and Action for Inclusive Development (IDEA) in coordination with the International Labour Organization on 30 October in Hanoi.
Women with disabilities: Few job opportunities
In Soc Son District, Hanoi, the district has more than 30,000 people, of whom nearly 3,000 are people with disabilities. Most of them are women, with about 1,000 women with disabilities of working age. Yet most of these women with disabilities are from poor or near-poor households, because most of them have no jobs, or have unstable jobs that do not suit their health or type of disability. This information was given by Ms. Dinh Thi Quynh Nga (Director of the Pink Heart Handicraft Cooperative, Soc Son, Hanoi).
Women with disabilities are among the most vulnerable groups in society, for reasons of gender, disability and poverty. They receive little healthcare, schooling and vocational training, have little access to income-generating job opportunities, and rarely take part in community social activities. They stay at home, living dependent on their families, avoiding society and feeling inferior, with no chance to go to school and no access to vocational training and jobs.
In a survey carried out in three provinces – Thai Nguyen, Thua Thien Hue and Tay Ninh – with more than 500 women with disabilities, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai (Vietnam Women's Academy) said that fewer than a third of those surveyed had jobs. Some had worked before but had to leave their jobs for many reasons, mostly because they could not find work suited to their health. Many were dismissed or rejected because of low work efficiency, discrimination, and difficulties getting around.
Ms. Hoai shared that there are cases where the family of a woman with a disability does not agree to her going to work, because “they have to take on the daily task of taking her to and from work, which is even harder, so they keep the woman at home”.
In that situation, many women choose spontaneous work suited to their family circumstances and health. It may be farming, animal husbandry, cultivation or selling goods… at home, and this accounts for nearly 65%. A small number of women with disabilities can raise capital for small businesses, open private production facilities or join associations and cooperatives of people with disabilities to work. Women over 40 often sell goods or work at home. Younger women often do freelance work or learn simple trades. Because they have not received proper schooling, their productivity is lower, so the income of women with disabilities is not high, which makes them feel all the more discouraged and dissatisfied with the work they have.
One reality often raised is that employers themselves create the idea that women with disabilities are not suited to the work. The work they do is not highly effective and may affect the labour productivity and workflow of the whole company, so they may refuse to take women with disabilities into employment. “Many business owners are ready to pay corporate social responsibility contributions rather than take people with disabilities into employment. In most workplaces that do take people with disabilities, the employer is often a person with a disability who wants to create jobs for people in the same situation”, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai shared.
Meanwhile, this group needs protection because they often face more risks and are more vulnerable to labour and sexual abuse than other women, and their reproductive health rights receive little attention and protection. Women with disabilities have little chance to access health and social services… Ms. Phan Thi Quynh Nhu, Deputy Head of the Family and Social Affairs Department of the Vietnam Women's Union, assessed that the difficulties faced by women with disabilities are at least three times higher than those faced by men, and that they are a vulnerable group in need of protection.
Longing for sustainable employment
Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Nguyen Hong Oanh, Director of IDEA, said that “women with disabilities are a considerable workforce in society. They demand protection by law to ensure equal rights and participation in social activities, including the right to equal, sustainable employment. Sustainable employment is the wish of people with disabilities, especially women with disabilities”.
In recent years, with state policies, support programmes from non-governmental organisations, the growing activities of associations, groups and clubs of people with disabilities, and their own efforts, many people with disabilities have overcome prejudice and discrimination to step out, take part in community activities and become business owners and heads of families…
The Vietnam Women's Union has organised capacity-building activities for women with disabilities to improve their capacity and skills on equal rights and to support them in creating opportunities to integrate and develop. From 2012 to now, 12 self-help women's groups in 12 provinces and cities, including Hanoi, Hai Phong, Lang Son, Vinh Phuc, Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam…, have been established and are operating, with 360 women with disabilities taking part.
In addition, the Union has organised counselling, vocational training and job creation programmes for women with disabilities, and campaigns to build loving homes for poor women and women with disabilities…
However, there are still a large number of women with disabilities who feel inferior and lack confidence and have not yet overcome the barriers to finding work suited to their health and qualifications.
Besides the goal of synchronising policies and guidelines, the policy of creating sustainable jobs for women with disabilities also needs to change. That means vocational training for women with disabilities suited to their abilities. At the same time, a working environment suited to this vulnerable group needs to be created, from infrastructure and support with transport and daily living to life-skills and legal-skills training.
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