Abstract
Introduction:
Unemployment is one of the major challenges facing persons with disabilities worldwide. Persons with disabilities experience significantly high rates of unemployment compared with the general population, and are often employed in low-paid jobs. This could indicate a missing link in identifying employment opportunities and impeding factors to the opportunities. This study examined access to employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the Nairobi County in Kenya.
Method:
An exploratory study design, using qualitative methods, was conducted with three categories of persons with disabilities: the physically disabled, the visually impaired, and the hearing impaired. A convenient sampling was used to recruit 30 participants from five constituencies in Embakasi in the Nairobi County.
Findings:
The study found that access to employment for persons with disabilities in the study area was limited. Factors responsible for the high unemployment include inaccessible information on employment, negative attitudes, inaccessible physical environment, low educational attainment of persons with disabilities, and ineffective legislation on employment.
Conclusion:
The lack of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in Kenya suggests that poverty reduction among persons with disabilities will be difficult. Therefore, efforts should be made through implementation of effective policies to remove barriers hindering access to employment for persons with disabilities in Kenya.
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank the Institute of Governance, Humanities, and Social Science for their support of the study as well as the Nairobi City County for their approval. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to all persons with disabilities who took part in the study.
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©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Childhood trauma, disability, hospital charges and prevention
- Review
- Role of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in heart failure
- Ethics in sexual behavior assessment and support for people with intellectual disability
- Identity and its reconstruction and disabled people
- Original Articles
- Hybrid therapy for treatment of newly diagnosed toddlers with autism spectrum disorders
- Is academic performance an indicator for physical fitness?
- Poetry writing and artistic ability in problem-based learning
- Influence of channel and ChannelFree™ processing technology on the vocal parameters in hearing-impaired individuals
- An evaluation of Crescent School vLearning – an online peer-tutoring program
- Feldenkrais method and functionality in Parkinson’s disease: a randomized controlled clinical trial
- Lives of persons with disabilities in Cameroon after CRPD: voices of persons with disabilities in the Buea Municipality in Cameroon
- Access to employment in Kenya: the voices of persons with disabilities
- An exploration of high school students’ perspectives on critical thinking and creativity in the Health Management and Social Care subject
- Supporting professional development needs for early childhood teachers: an exploratory analysis of teacher perceptions of stress and challenging behavior
- Auditory processing abilities in amateur musicians
- Dysphagia related quality of life (QoL) following total laryngectomy (TL)
- Short Communication
- Low testosterone levels in aging men may mediate the observed increase in suicide in this age group
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Childhood trauma, disability, hospital charges and prevention
- Review
- Role of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in heart failure
- Ethics in sexual behavior assessment and support for people with intellectual disability
- Identity and its reconstruction and disabled people
- Original Articles
- Hybrid therapy for treatment of newly diagnosed toddlers with autism spectrum disorders
- Is academic performance an indicator for physical fitness?
- Poetry writing and artistic ability in problem-based learning
- Influence of channel and ChannelFree™ processing technology on the vocal parameters in hearing-impaired individuals
- An evaluation of Crescent School vLearning – an online peer-tutoring program
- Feldenkrais method and functionality in Parkinson’s disease: a randomized controlled clinical trial
- Lives of persons with disabilities in Cameroon after CRPD: voices of persons with disabilities in the Buea Municipality in Cameroon
- Access to employment in Kenya: the voices of persons with disabilities
- An exploration of high school students’ perspectives on critical thinking and creativity in the Health Management and Social Care subject
- Supporting professional development needs for early childhood teachers: an exploratory analysis of teacher perceptions of stress and challenging behavior
- Auditory processing abilities in amateur musicians
- Dysphagia related quality of life (QoL) following total laryngectomy (TL)
- Short Communication
- Low testosterone levels in aging men may mediate the observed increase in suicide in this age group