Employment Status of Persons with Disabilities in the Greater Accra Region

Abstract

Disability is everyone's portion and therefore can befall anyone. Whiles some are born with it, others acquire it through ailment, accident or medications used in treating some sicknesses. All though most jobs can be done by people who have disabilities, their participation and integration in the labour market, particularly the formal market has not been very encouraging. Though the passage of the Disability Act by Government in 2006 was meant to comprehensively deal with disabled people's participation in socioeconomic activities, significant changes are yet to be realized. This study aimed to comprehensively examine the employment status of persons with disabilities in the Greater Accra Region. It sought to ascertain their level of employment across the various sectors of employment and to also find out some of the factors limiting their participation in the labour market. The study employed a mixed approach by analysing quantitative data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey 6, and field interviews conducted by the researcher. It was found that persons with disabilities have low levels of employment compared to non-persons with disabilities. Their level of participation is equally low in the formal sector. Factors such as low level of education, discrimination, inaccessibility to public places and the absence of a legislative instrument to operationalize some of the provisions in the Disability Act was also identified as limiting persons with disabilities’ participation in the labour market.