Disability and Social Mobility: Education, Work and School-to-Work Transitions
Tuesday, 8 July 2025: 15:00-16:45
Location: SJES008 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
RC28 Social Stratification (host committee)
Language: English
In the field of sociology of inequalities, disability is studied less frequently than other axes of inequality such as social origin or gender. However, people with disabilities do not have the same access to education and the labour market, and thus are disadvantaged regarding their social mobility and overall life chances. They are less integrated in the education system, are more often unemployed, and show a higher risk of falling into poverty (Academic Network of European Disability Experts/ANED 2018; Bültmann/Siegrist 2020).
This symposium aims to present latest empirical research on inequalities related to disability. This aspect is rather under-researched, as following the widely used meritocratic definition of inequalities with ability as one of the legitimate key criteria for an unequal distribution of goods and positions (Young 1958), disparities structured by a lack of ability would not constitute inequalities.
We welcome contributions studying systematic variations in educational and status attainment (e.g., school-to-work transition) between people with and without disabilities. This may also include studies on interactions between disability and established inequality axes such as social origin and gender, as well as studies on different types of disabilities.
Session Organizers:
Andreas HADJAR, University of Fribourg, Switzerland and
Kevin SIMOES LOUREIRO, University of Fribourg, Luxembourg
Chair:
Lucinda PLATT, London School of Economics, United Kingdom
Oral Presentations
Distributed Papers
