Labour Market Participation for Young People with Disabilities: The Impact of Gender and Higher Education

Abstract

To what extent does higher education promote labour market participation for disabled people in school-to-work transitions and early career trajectories? This article argues that the effect of higher education on labour market outcomes for disabled people must be studied in correlation to gender. Intersectional theory warns against the generalisability of the female and male experiences, and predicts that disability may influence sexism, and that gender may influence disableism. Norwegian full-population register data on recipients of disability benefits are used to explore the effect of higher education on three labour market outcomes for men and women with disabilities. Contrary to common intersectionality expectations, the results show that men experience more extreme employment disadvantages related to their disabilities than women. Higher education has a stronger effect on participation for disabled women than for disabled men. However, gender differences in participation are smaller for people with disabilities than for the general population.