Is the disability wage gap a gendered inequality? Evidence from a 13-year full population study from Norway

Abstract

Recent research has confirmed the employment disadvantages of disabled people, but disability wage gaps in interaction with gender have not been sufficiently explored. This article asks how the disability wage gap can be accounted for, how the unexplained disability wage gap has evolved over time and how the intersections of disability and gender relate to wage penalties. Norwegian nation-wide annual registry data from the period 2005–2017 (N = 8.5 million) are used to estimate longitudinal pay gaps of disabled men and women in relation to nondisabled workers. The analyses arrive at a persistent residual wage gap for disabled employees. Results confirm that gender is a defining predictor for income, and that disabled women are especially disadvantaged. Implications for intersectional theory are discussed. The current study is a reminder that antidiscrimination legislation and implementation of regulations has not been successful in levelling out injustices experienced by disabled people in the labour market.