What history tells us about getting a job as a young wheelchair user today

We’ve been giving young wheelchair users opportunities to explore the world of work for decades at Whizz Kidz. So, for UK Disability History Month 2024 and its theme of “Disability, Livelihood and Employment”, we want to open a conversation about the past, present and future of disability and employment.

For much of human history, society has wrongly equated disability with unemployment. In Victorian times, the so-called “work-shy” were sent to work in warehouses, which effectively became institutions which forced large numbers of disabled people to live and work in poor conditions. Meanwhile, in recent years, we have repeatedly seen politicians scapegoat disabled people to serve a political agenda, with references to “benefits fraud” or “sick note culture”.

This ableist rhetoric implies that disability and employment are contradictory ideas. In reality, of course, this is not the case. Access barriers certainly create challenges, but many disabled people have fulfilling working lives. In fact, the latest research suggests that as many as 23% of UK working-age adults are disabled. Last year, there were 5.5 million working-age disabled people in employment. 

There are positive signs of change. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the culture and landscape of work fundamentally shifted. The rise of flexible and home working has created more opportunities for accessible employment. Meanwhile, a growing interest in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is bringing much-needed visibility to the barriers that disabled employees face in the workplace.

So what is the history of disability and employment, and what does the past tell us about getting a job as a young wheelchair user today?

A short history of disability and employment

When you think about the disabled people of the past, what do you picture? Some of us might picture a person with a physical disability begging on the street. Others might picture a group of learning-disabled people institutionalised in a cruel asylum. For most of us, the images that come to mind are unlikely to be ones of empowerment or equality. 

Instead, we probably imagine there has never been a better time to be disabled than today. Though ableism is pervasive and access barriers are everywhere, at least we can be grateful for medical advances, improved hygiene, high-tech mobility aids, a welfare state and the 20th-century conception of a modern disability rights movement. 

The reality, however, is more complex. Disability historian David Turner argues that, in some ways, disabled people enjoyed more rights in certain periods of history than they do today. 

Until the 18th century, most disabled people lived in their own homes and communities. Some got married; others received support from their family or neighbours. Institutions existed, but they housed only a small minority: in a population of nine million people, fewer than 10,000 lived in an institution.

By living and working in their own communities, disabled people could often work from home at their own pace. Turner gives the example of Anne Parkes, a woman from Shropshire who lost her ability to walk in the early 18th century because of rickets but supported herself by knitting gloves and stockings. 

Another example is a middle-aged man with “lameness” near Carlisle who earned money by making baskets and beehives. When we look at illustrations from that time, we can find representations of disabled people engaging in sedentary professions, such as an amputee cobbler.

However, by the 19th century, attitudes towards disability were beginning to harden. There was a growing belief that providing financial support to those in need would encourage “laziness”. Though workhouses were intended to punish the “work-shy”, in practice, they were mostly avoided by the non-disabled. Yet the many disabled people who lived in poverty didn’t have such a luxury: they were forced to choose between begging on the street or an asylum or workhouse. Soon enough, the institutions housed disproportionate numbers of disabled people. 

While at the beginning of the century, just a few hundred people lived in nine asylums, by 1900, over 100,000 disabled people lived in 120 asylums, and another 10,000 were in workhouses. Conditions were punishing, with poor diet and little comfort.

Yet, there were still some signs of progress in 19th-century disability rights. For one, specialist education became increasingly available to disabled children and adults. In the 1890s, local authorities set up many schools for blind, deaf, epileptic and other disabled children. 

Also, during the 19th century, the number of charities and organisations grew rapidly, offering support to disabled people through education, work, medical treatment and other services. In 1894, the Guild of the Brave Poor Things was formed. With a mission to “make life sweet for the blind and cr*pple folk of all ages”, the organisation sought to empower disabled people through social opportunities and apprenticeships.

However, many argue that the Industrial Revolution marked a turning point in the history of disability and employment. With factories opening and working hours extending, disabled workers were pressured to keep up with the demands of an ever-growing industry. Coal production boomed, creating many jobs in mining, but working conditions were harsh, and the work was physically demanding, often leading to further injury and impairment or even death. The productivity of the collective took precedence over the needs of the individual – introducing a working culture which continues to affect disabled workers to this day. 

Progress is rarely linear, and throughout history, disabled people’s access to employment has often waxed and waned, changing with the social and political climate. Sometimes, during times of crisis, disabled people have experienced increased access to employment opportunities, such as in World War I and II.

In most recent history, the Covid-19 pandemic led to the rise of home and flexible working, which many heralded as a new era for disability inclusion in the workplace. But a few years on, has this culture shift led to real change?

Sources

Historic England, "A History of Disability: from 1050 to the present day".
The UK Disability History Month 2024 broadsheet.
David Turner, BBC Ouch blog, 2014, Did disabled workers enjoy greater rights in centuries past?

Disability and employment now

Post-pandemic, there is evidence that disability employment has increased thanks to the rise of home working. Recent research in the U.S. shows that the rate of people with a physical disability in full-time employment has increased by 1.1%. 

Could it be the normalisation of home working and a growing conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) that has led to a better understanding of individuals’ access requirements? Research from Canada shows that employees with disabilities were in 2022 more likely to be granted workplace accommodations than they were in 2017.

And yet, there are still enormous barriers for disabled people in the workplace. A recent UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) study highlighted a disability pay gap of 12.7%, equivalent to an average of £2 less per hour. 

Access barriers and attitudes

To learn more about what it’s like to be a young wheelchair user in the workplace, I spoke to Georgia, Ella and Caitlyn. 

Georgia is a Service Delivery Coordinator in the Young People’s Services Team at Whizz Kidz and a previous member of our Kidz Board. 

Ella and Caitlyn are existing members of Kidz Board.

1. Physical barriers

The most obvious barriers are usually physical and come in many forms. For example, this could be a lack of a ramp at the office's entrance, a desk at the wrong height, or no accessible toilet. 

Physical barriers can also make it hard to access public transport, which can complicate travel into a workplace. In big cities like London, where there are the most job opportunities, there is often a lack of wheelchair-accessible housing.

Sometimes, physical barriers are compounded by people’s attitudes. Ella describes one job interview, where “They just took me to their stairs and were like, you can't work here, we have these. And they refused to interview me. This is the kind of thing you come up against quite a lot.” 

2.   Low expectations

Young wheelchair users often have to deal with other people’s low expectations. Caitlyn explains that for some people, “it’s unexpected to see wheelchair users have jobs and make a living for themselves.” 

Ella agrees that once she became a wheelchair user at the age of sixteen, “people thought I had no prospects left.” Though Ella was determined to find a career path “that would be doable with [her] disability”, she was discouraged from applying to university and encouraged to take a year out. 

Thankfully, Ella understood that the barrier was people’s low expectations and not the fact she used a wheelchair. She did her own research and took the necessary steps to pursue a career in HR.

3.   Fear or awkwardness

There is still a cultural taboo around disability, which, for some people, results in fear or awkwardness. A recent campaign by Scope reported that two-thirds of Brits feel awkward around disabled people. 

“Being a wheelchair user is so confronting for some people,” says Ella. “They can't ignore it. Sometimes, there’s a fear of saying the wrong thing. Sometimes, there's a huge amount of ableism still present.”

This fear of saying the wrong thing often leads to poor communication from employers. Georgia explains: “It makes us nervous because we’re thinking this has happened ten times, where they've not communicated with me.”

4.   Lack of experience

Most often, attitudinal barriers are due to an employer’s simple lack of experience in working with disabled people. “In nearly all of my jobs, I've been the first wheelchair user they've ever employed,” says Ella.

This can be nerve-wracking for new employees, who might feel they are entering an unknown. Caitlin explains: “It’s daunting for anyone starting their first job, but this is heightened as a wheelchair user. We have extra considerations.”

5.   Tokenism

Frustratingly, as Caitlyn explains, when disabled people do become successful at work, they are sometimes met with accusations of tokenism. These are, of course, another form of ableism. “We work hard to gain employment,” she says, “It hasn’t been handed to us because we’re disabled.” 

5 tips for young wheelchair users in the workplace

Though there are barriers for young wheelchair users in the workplace, Ella insists that with knowledge and the right support, getting a job you love is “very possible.”

Georgia agrees. “There are definitely reasons to be hopeful,” she says. “We're now living in a time where things can be adapted. Before Covid, you needed to be in an office to have a job – you needed to be face-to-face. But that's changed hugely.” 

1. Do your research

Georgia emphasises the importance of “doing your research.” For example, it can be empowering to learn about the social model (the idea that people are disabled by barriers in society), to understand reasonable adjustments, or to know about the spoon theory.

Meanwhile, Ella suggests looking into the government support that is available. “There is support out there, even if it's not perhaps immediately obvious,” she says. “There are schemes like Access to Work.”

2.   Ask questions

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions”, says Georgia. Although employers don’t always explicitly mention accessibility or a flexible working culture, this doesn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t be prepared to make adaptations. 

“If you see a job advertised and you think, I'm going to go for that, don't let the physical barriers, like not being able to get into the office, stand in your way. If it's hybrid, for example, or they're asking the interview to be in person, reach out to them and see what adjustments can be put in place.” If you don’t ask, you’ll never know!

3.   Plan ahead

Caitlyn emphasises the importance of planning ahead before starting a new job. “If possible, plan a visit to explore your workplace building before starting. That way, you can discuss or note down your access needs and any adjustments you may require ahead of time.” Ella agrees: “Plan and plan some more.”

In recent years, disabled people in certain industries (such as media) have been using an access rider. Sometimes called an access document or access statement, this is a resource that provides clear information about a person’s disability or access needs, making it easy to share this information with anyone relevant.

4.   Use your voice

Georgia’s “biggest advice” is to be open about communicating your needs. “Use the voice that you have because if you start speaking and you start telling people what you want, someone is going to listen.”

Ella agrees that it’s important to be clear and assertive: “Don't hold back and think, or you can make something work when you know it's going to be difficult. Tell the business what you need.”

She says not to take an employer’s knowledge for granted or assume they instinctively know how to support you. 

“If you know you need a fully functioning disabled toilet, you need to point that out to them. Don't presume they’ll know what your access needs are going to be because sometimes they will not think about that. You have to be the one to raise that.”

5.   Get experience

Georgia’s final piece of advice is that “any experience or practice that you get is good experience.” Even if your goal is full-time paid work, don’t be afraid to build relevant experience in part-time or volunteering roles or even in your hobbies – you never know where these might lead.

“I was a service user before I became a member of staff,” says Georgia. “And I was on the Kidz Board for six and a half years before that, representing the South East of England.”

Georgia reflects on how her lived experience and voluntary work prepared her for the professional role she enjoys today. “Being able to come into a paid employment role with those kids really helped me see everything in a full circle.”

The fight to work must continue

Disability and employment have had a complicated history. From the punitive workhouses of the 19th century to the access barriers and ableist attitudes facing young wheelchair users today, the fight for disability rights has long been entwined with access to employment.

But when we dig a little deeper into disability history or speak to today’s employed young wheelchair users, it becomes clear that neither our past or our present are black-and-white. “There's a long, long way to go, and we need to start looking at the bigger picture,” says Georgia. “But at the same time, there's been a whole lot of improvement in terms of what disabled people can access and what is possible for them.” 

“You see now that there are wheelchair users who are doctors, there are wheelchair users who are teachers, there are wheelchair users who are in roles like I'm in. There are journalists, reporters, people doing all sorts of things. If you want to accomplish something, there will be a way of accomplishing it. Don’t give up hope.”

Whether in recent media or in 19th-century disability history, there is power in representation. Disabled people have always existed – and always found ways to do meaningful work.