11. LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF WAGE DIFFERENCES AMONG CLOSURE 26 STATUS COMPETITIVELY EMPLOYED WOMEN AND MEN WITH DISABILITIES WHO RECEIVED VR SERVICES

11

LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF WAGE DIFFERENCES AMONG CLOSURE 26 STATUS

COMPETITIVELY EMPLOYED WOMEN AND MEN WITH DISABILITIES WHO RECEIVED VR

SERVICES FROM RSA DURING 2003, 2004, 2005, AND 2006

NCRE Annual Conference

San Antonio, TX

21 February, 2009

Larry Featherston, A.B.D., C.R.C., C.V.E.DBTAC: Northeast ADA Center

Brent Williams, Ph.D., C.R.C.University of Arkansas

“Women Can't Wait – Join the Fight for Fair Pay!”

Headline taken May 20, 2008 from the National Women’s Law Center websitehttp://www.nwlc.org/fairpay/

Gender Wage Gap Persists

• Women working full-time, year-round earn only about 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, virtually the same amount women earned in 2005. In 2006, the median annual earnings of women ages 15 and older working full-time, year-round were $32,515, compared to $42,261 for their male counterparts.

• Minority women fare significantly worse. In 2006, the median earnings of African American women working full-time, year-round were $30,3528 compared to $48,4209 for white, non-Hispanic men; the median for Hispanic women was only $25,198.10 This means that an African American woman earned just 69 cents for every dollar earned by a man, while a Hispanic woman earned only 59 cents on the dollar compared to her male counterpart.11 In both cases, this pay gap for women of color was only marginally smaller than it was in 2004.

National Women’s Law Center (2008). Congress must act to close the wage gap for women: Facts on women’s wages and pending legislation.

Gender Wage Gap Persists continued

• An earnings gap exists between women and men across a wide spectrum of occupations. In 2006, for example, the median weekly wages earned by women physicians were just 72% of the median weekly wages of male physicians.

• In some occupations, women have actually lost ground. For example, in a U.S. Government Accountability Office study of management positions in 10 industries the pay gap had increased between 1995 and 2000.


Gender Wage Gap Persists continued

• The earnings gap between women and men also persists across all educational levels.

• There is not a single state in which women have gained economic equality with men.

• As women get older, the wage gap for them widens.

• Pay inequity also follows women into retirement.


Primary Goal of RSA• Help individuals with disabilities achieve their maximum

employment potential by providing services which reduce barriers to work through skill acquisition, accommodations and support.

– 2003: 204,383 achieved employment (84.1% competitively employed)




Competitive Employment

“Employment in the competitive labor market that is performed on a full-time or part-time basis in an integrated setting and for which an individual is compensated at or above the minimum wage, but not less than the customary wage and level of benefits paid by the employer for the same or similar work performed by individuals who are not disabled.” (p. 31)

Rehabilitation Services Administration (2003). Reporting manual for the case service report (RSA-911) (RSA-PD-03-07).

Amount of Money Spent by RSA on Direct Services to Individuals with Disabilities

• 2003– $1,717,203,583

• 2004– $1,730,602,173

• 2005– $1,751,507,455

• 2006– Not available

Note: This does not include money spent on counseling and guidance services.Rehabilitation Services Administration. (2008). Fiscal year data tables. Retrieved June 22, 2008 from http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/rehab/statistics.html

Policies backing RSA

• Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504– Provide access for individuals with disabilities to any

program or activity receiving federal funds

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title 1– Prohibits employment discrimination against qualified

individuals with disabilities – including job application procedures, hiring, advancement and termination

Employment TrendsThe Employment Rate of Men and Women, Age 18-64 Without a Work Limitation and With a Work Limitation in the United States from 1994-2004

Adapted from and “2004 disability status report: United States” by A. J. Houtenville, 2005, and “Disability statistics in the United States” by A. J. Houtenville, 2006.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Em

plo

ym

en

t R

ate

in

Pe

rce

nt

Women Without a work Limitation Women With a work Limitation

Men Without a work Limitation Men With a work Limitation

Women Without a w ork Limitation 69.6 70.9 71.3 72.6 73.1 73.1 73.5 73.8 72.1 71.5 71.2

Women With a w ork Limitation 22.2 23.2 23.7 23.8 23.5 20.7 23.7 21.9 20.3 18.7 18.4

Men Without a w ork Limitation 83.9 85.4 84.7 85.5 86.2 86.4 86.5 85.9 84 83.1 83.4

Men With a w ork Limitation 25.6 26.1 25.7 27.3 23.3 24.1 25.4 22.8 21.4 19.9 20.3

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Barriers to Work

• Ignorance, prejudice, a reluctance to change by employers

• Effects of disability – need for continued medical treatment

• Negative perceptions about returning to work– Lack of confidence and motivation

• Job availability• Lack of Transportation

(Bruyere et al., 2006; Feist-Price & Khanna, 2003; Roessler, Williams, Featherston & Featherston, 2006 )

“Double handicap” - additional barriers for women

• Deegan and Brooks (1985), Feist-Price and Khanna (2003), and Schur (2003)

– Gender bias / Sexism

– Oppressive actions by society

Wage Discrimination

“Women with disabilities must be afforded the same rights and opportunities as all other persons, irrespective of disability status and sex, with regard to employment.” (p.12)

Feist-Price, S., & Khanna, N. (2003). Employment inequality for women with disabilities. Off Our Backs, 33(1/2), 10-12.

Most recent evidence of wage discrimination

• Dey & Hill, 2007– Women employed full-time, one year out of college are

earning 80% of the earnings for men

– Women employed full-time, ten years out of college are earning 69% of the earnings for men

“The gender pay gap has become a fixture of the U.S. workplace and is so ubiquitous that many simply view it as normal.” (p. 2)

Recent studies providing evidence of the persistent wage gap

U.S. General Accounting Office (2003)– After controlling for demographic factors such as marital status,

race, number and age of children, and income, as well as work patterns such as years of work, hours worked, and job tenure — women still earned, on average, only 80% of what men earned in 2000.

– That is, there remains a 20% pay gap between women and men that cannot be explained or justified.

U.S. General Accounting Office. (2003). Women’s Earnings: Work Patterns Partially Explain Difference between Men’s and Women’s Earnings 2, GAO-04-35. Retrieved December, 2008 from http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-35.

Recent studies providing evidence of the persistent wage gap - continued

• Kimberly Bayard, Judith Hellerstein, et al.(2003)– Examined occupational segregation and the pay gap between

women and men found that, after controlling for occupational segregation by industry, occupation, place of work, and the jobs held within that place of work (as well as for education, age, and other demographic characteristics), about one-half of the wage gap is due solely to the individual’s sex.

Kimberly Bayard, Judith Hellerstein, et al. (2003). New Evidence on Sex Segregation and Sex Differences in Wages from Matched Employee-Employer Data. Journal of Labor Economics, 21, 887-904.

Most recent evidence of wage discrimination - continued

• Baldwin & Johnson, 1995 – Women with disabilities were earning 60% of the male wage,

with two-thirds of that difference being attributed to discrimination

• Stoddard et al., 1998– Women with disabilities were earning 68% of the earnings of

women without disabilities– Women with non-severe disabilities were earning 64.6% of

the income of men with non-severe disabilities– Women with severe disabilities were earning 79.2% of the

income of men with severe disabilities

Significance of the Study

“If working women earned the same as men (those who work the same number of hours; have the same education, age, and union status; and live in the same region of the country), their annual family incomes would rise by $4,000 and poverty rates would be cut in half.” (p. 2)

National Women’s Law Center. (2006). The Paycheck Check Fairness Act: Helping to close the wage gap for women.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study was to longitudinally investigate the magnitude of wage differences among closure 26 status competitively employed women and men with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation services from RSA in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Hypothesis

Closure 26 status competitively employed women with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation services from RSA earn less than closure 26 status competitively employed men with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation services through RSA.

Participants

• Individuals with disabilities who received services through RSA and received a competitive employment closure status in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006

• Individuals who reported working 30-50 a week

• Individual had no missing data

Matching procedure

To create two equal comparison groups for each fiscal year, men and women were be matched on:

1. Race 9. VR counseling received

2. Age 10. Additional training

3. Region 11. Medicare recipient

4. Education at closure 12. Medicaid recipient

5. Cost of services received 13. SSI recipient

6. Primary disability 14. SSDI recipient

7. Secondary disability 15. TANF recipient

8. Disability severity 16. Worker’s Comp recipient

Note: The 2005 and 2006 RSA databases did not report age.

Demographic Characteristics for Men and Women with Disabilities for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006

2003 2004 2005 2006

N (Percent) N (Percent) N (Percent) N (Percent)

Prior to Matching

Gender

Men 75,081 (56.6) 73,144 (56.9) 72,246 (56.8) 71,097 (56.7)

Women 57,451 (43.4) 55,413 (43.1) 54,868 (43.2) 54,393 (43.3)

Total 132,532 128,557 127,114 125,480

After Matching

Ethnicity

Caucasian 9,978 (76.6) 9,919 (75.2) 23,477 (72.9) 23,283 (73.3)

African American 2,302 (17.7) 2,492 (18.9) 6,085 (18.9) 5,958 (18.8)

American Indian or Alaska Native 10 (0.1) 12 (0.1) 88 (0.3) 92 (0.3)

Asian 2 (<0.1) 11 (0.1) 111 (0.3) 105 (0.4)

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 (<0.1) 3 (<0.1) 27 (<0.1) 24 (<0.1)

Hispanic or Latino 740 (5.7) 755 (5.7) 2,402 (7.5) 2,309 (7.3)

Total 13,033 13,192 32,190 31,771

Note: Men and women were not matched on age for 2005 and 2006 fiscal years.

Demographic Characteristics for Men and Women with Disabilities for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 continued

2003N

2004N

2005N

2006N

Level of Education

No formal schooling 2 2 24 15

Elementary education (grades 1-8) 101 124 485 426

Secondary education, no high school diploma (grades 9-12) 1,285 1,344 3,324 3,304

Special education certificate of completion/diploma or in attendance 745 776 1,319 1,259

High school graduate or equivalency certificate 6,763 6,644 12,699 12,249

Post-secondary education, no degree 1,783 1,809 5,405 5,351

Associate degree or Vocational/Technical Certificate 1,175 1,237 4,767 4,865

Bachelor’s degree 1,007 1,061 3,413 3,454

Master’s degree or higher 172 195 754 848

Training

No training received 1,071 9,385 20,412 20,229

College 2,329 1,140 3,287 3,175

Vocational 738 1,723 5,456 5,060

Other 8,895 944 3,035 3,307



2003N

2004N

2005N

2006N

Significant Disability

No 1,426 1,394 3,471 3,218

Yes 11,607 11,798 28,719 28,553

Cost of Services

$0-$5,000 11,943 11,974 27,079 26,570

$5,001-$10,000 727 804 3,436 3,421

$10,001-$15,000 250 271 940 924

$15,001-$20,000 62 89 353 361

$20,001-$25,000 14 14 101 150

$25,001+ 37 40 281 345

VR Counseling

No 3,920 3,758 9,880 9,035

Yes 9,113 9,434 22,310 22,736



2003N

2004N

2005N

2006N

Medicaid

No 12,596 13055 31230 30690

Yes 437 137 960 1081

Medicare

No 12,996 13157 31858 31351

Yes 37 35 332 420

SSI

No 13,000 13142 31847 31402

Yes 33 50 343 369

SSDI

No 13,018 13169 31710 31249

Yes 15 23 480 522

TANF

No 13,029 13192 32176 31764

Yes 4 0 14 7

Worker’s Comp

No 13,029 13184 32150 31726

Yes 4 8 40 45



0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Sensory only Physical only Cognitive only Psychiatric only

Type of Disability

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2003

2004

2005

2006


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500

1000

1500

2000

2500

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2003 2004 2005 2006

Data analysis

• Trend analyses of median earnings• Effect size analyses (Cohen’s d) to determine

the magnitude of the wage differences– Due to the large sample sizes, statistical

significance testing was inappropriate

(Cohen 1962, 1988, 1990, 1994; Huberty, 2002; Kirk, 1996, 2001; Thompson, 1996, 2002)

Median Weekly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Any Disabilities for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

$450

2003 2004 2005 2006

Med

ian

Weekly

Earn

ing

s

Men Women

Median Weekly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Single or Multiple Disabilities for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

$450

2003 2004 2005 2006

Weekly

Med

ian

Earn

ing

s

Men - Single Dis Women - Single Dis Men - Multi Dis Women - Multi Dis

Median Weekly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Any Disabilities by Ethnicity for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

$450

2003 2004 2005 2006

Med

ian

Wee

kly

Ear

nin

gs

W-Men AA-Men His-Men W-Women AA-Women His-Women

Median Weekly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Any Disabilities, and Men and Women in the United States for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006

Note: Comparison earnings data was adapted from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 2003 – 2006 Current Population Survey. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time and salary workers age 16 and older. data. http://www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm#demographics

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

2003 2004 2005 2006

Wee

kly

Med

ian

Ear

nin

gs

Men w/ Disability Women w/ Disability All Men All Women

Median Weekly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Any Disabilities, and Men and Women in the United States for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006


$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

2003 2004 2005 2006

Med

ian

Wee

kly

Ear

ning

s

W-Men w/ Dis AA-Men w/ Dis W-Women w/ Dis AA-Women w/ Dis

W-Men AA-Men W-Women AA-Women

Median Weekly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Disabilities by Educational Attainment at Closure for Fiscal Years 2003 to 2006

2003 2004 2005 2006

Educational

N

Men Women

N

Men Women

N

Men Women

N

Men Women

Level Median Median Median Median Median Median Median Median

(75th %ile) (75th %ile) (75th %ile) (75th %ile) (75th %ile) (75th %ile) (75th %ile) (75th %ile)

No High School Diploma 1,388 307 251 1,470 320 260 3,833 320 276 3,745 322 280

(400) (301) (400) (320) (400) (336) (420) (344)

High School Diploma or equivalent 7,508 325 280 7,420 339 290 14,018 347 300 13,508 350 303

(437) (358) (441) (363) (450) (380) (473) (400)

Some College, no degree 2,985 400 340 3,046 400 350 10,172 400 360 10,216 418 368

(518) (440) (545) (460) (558) (480) (580) (480)

College degree or higher 1,179 538 500 1,256 560 528 4,167 560 537 4,302 600 548

(769) (700) (780) (709) (800) (711) (840) (750)

Note: All values are in U.S. dollars. Men and women were not matched on age for 2005 and 2006 fiscal years.

Median Yearly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Any Disabilities, and Men and Women in the United States for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006


$0

$5,000

$10,000

$15,000

$20,000

$25,000

$30,000

$35,000

$40,000

$45,000

2003 2004 2005 2006

Med

ian

Yearl

y E

arn

ing

s

Men w/ Disability Women w/ Disability All Men All Women

Before calculating effect sizes

• Cohen’s d assumes the data is normally distributed.• Must check distribution skewness and kurtosis.• As speculated, our data was positively skewed.• Used a log transformation to decrease the skewness

and make data more “normally” distributed.

Original wage distributions - Men

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$0

Disability Groups

Men’s wage distribution - log transformations

Disability Groups

Original wage distributions - Women

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$0

Disability Groups

Women’s wage distribution - log transformations

Disability Groups

Effect Size Calculations on Mean Weekly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Disabilities for Fiscal Years 2003-2006


Men Women

Year Min Max 75th

Median

Mean Min Max 75th

Median

Mean

d

d after Log

(Number Matched) Wage Wage Percentile (S.D.) Wage Wage Percentile (S.D.) Transformation

With any disability

2003 155 5,769 480 355 412.87 155 3,220 400 300 346.7 -0.32 -0.39

(13,033) (228.99) (173.48)

2004 155 5,935 500 360 425.19 155 3,076 402 307.5 359.02 -0.31 -0.37

(13,192) (236.60) (184.89)

2005 155 6,250 520 380 447.42 155 3,000 441 325 383.03 -0.28 -0.32

(32,190) (256.02) (197.39)

2006 155 9,999 550 400 465.95 155 4,000 460 340 396.41 -0.28 -0.30

(31,771) (277.74) (209.21)

With a single disability

2003 155 5,769 486 360 418.41 155 3,220 400 300 348.87 -0.33 -0.42

(10,893) (237.58) (178.07)

2004 155 3,000 500 360 429.63 155 3,001 500 312 363.49 -0.30 -0.32

(10,951) (236.59) (189.52)

2005 155 5,200 540 398 459.5 155 3,000 455 330 390.81 -0.28 -0.30

(22,651) (269.26) (207.80)

2006 155 9999 577 400 480.64 155 4000 480 346 406.32 -0.28 -0.35

(22,147) (293.85) (221.63)

Effect Size Calculations on Mean Weekly Earnings for Matched Men and Women with Disabilities for Fiscal Years 2003-2006 continued


Men Women

Year Min Max 75th

Median

Mean Min Max 75th

Median

Mean

d

d after Log

(Number Matched) Wage Wage Percentile (S.D.) Wage Wage Percentile (S.D.) Transformation

With multiple disabilities

2003 155 1,614 449 340 384.68 155 1,559 387 300 335.68 -0.30 -0.29

(2,140) (176.36) (147.45)

2004 155 5,935 455 347 403.5 155 3,076 384 300 337.21 -0.33 -0.35

(2,241) (337.21) (158.58)

2005 155 6,250 480 360 418.72 155 2,600 420 320 364.54 -0.27 -0.28

(9,539) (364.54) (168.71)

2006 155 4,038 500 374 432.13 155 3,000 425 326 373.6 -0.28 -0.28

(9,624) (233.06) (175.23)

Discussion

• Possible explanations for the results:– Data– Service Provisions by RSA– Current Policy

Data

• No identifiable means to triangulate the accuracy or quality of the data

• Many of the variables in the databases are categorical and are restricted to a single response

• Only quantitative data on the variables used to track client outcomes were collected

• Post-employment data are self-reported weekly wages and hours worked

• No formally assessed outcome measures

• No measure of service quality

Service Provision

• Individuals with disabilities served through RSA are being placed in basic, entry level positions which only pay minimum wages

• Placements are in jobs and NOT careers

Service Provision continued

• RSA is NOT achieving the primary goal of helping individuals with disabilities achieve their vocational potential– After 35 years in the workforce, men with disabilities will earn

$627,000 (48%) less than men without disabilities and women with disabilities will earn $472,000 (45%) less than women without disabilities.

– After 35 years in the workforce, women with disabilities will earn $102,000 (15%) less than men with disabilities.

– After 35 years in the workforce, women with single disabilities will earn $105,000 (15%) less than men with single disabilities.

– After 35 years in the workforce, women with multiple disabilities will earn $80,000 (12%) less than men with multiple disabilities.

Policy – addressing all individuals with disabilities

• Individuals with disabilities are still being treated unequally and are finding it difficult to compete with workers without disabilities– need for increased enforcement of the

discrimination policies set forth by the ADA– tougher penalties for businesses who do not abide

by those policies

Policy – addressing the needs of women with disabilities

• Current policy is perpetuating the inequality of services provided to women with disabilities by assuming women have the same needs as men

• RSA was established to serve men with disabilities and the current infrastructure does not fit the needs of women with disabilities

• To achieve equality, ALL VR participants must be treated differently

Abraham Lincoln statement on the humble citizen’s right to get ahead

“I don’t believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good. [But] while we do not propose any war upon

capital, we do wish to allow the humblest man [or woman] an equal chance to get rich with

everybody else.”

Questions?

Documents

11. LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF WAGE DIFFERENCES AMONG CLOSURE 26 STATUS COMPETITIVELY EMPLOYED WOMEN AND MEN WITH DISABILITIES WHO RECEIVED VR SERVICES