Women with disabilities' experiences of government employment assistance in Canada

The purpose of this article is to explore women with disabilities' experiences of government employment assistance in Canada.

The article draws on the results of an online survey conducted in 2006. Data were coded and analysed according to key themes.

The results indicate that many of the women with disabilities who responded to the survey regarded the employment assistance they have received as of very limited importance to their abilities to find and keep paid work. Their comments suggest that existing forms of government employment assistance, such as the provision of wage subsidies to employers, may be of limited effectiveness in enabling at least some women with disabilities to find and keep paid work. The women's comments point to the limitations of existing employment assistance strategies including the need to shift program emphases away from individualistic models aimed at 'reforming the worker' and toward systemic barriers to employment.

The article concludes by discussing the implications of survey results for future research and strategies for improving the types of employment assistance available to women with disabilities.