Marked identities within unmarked work practices: revealing a nuanced hierarchy of disability in Singapore's employment context

Abstract

Markedness and unmarkedness are key concepts in the sociology of identity. Marked people/things, such as disability, tend to carry stigma. Unmarked people/things, such as able-bodiedness, tend to hold privilege yet go unnoticed in everyday life. This qualitative research explores the markedness of disability within the unmarkedness of able-bodied work practices in Singapore. Through in-depth interviews with persons with sensory disabilities, job coaches who help to find jobs for persons with disabilities, and employers of persons with sensory disabilities, I found and named able-bodied work practices that persons with sensory disabilities struggle with, that typically go unmarked. These work practices include traveling to and from one’s workplace, and answering/making phone calls. I also found that persons with sensory disabilities uplifted themselves by unmarking disability from the context of their work lives and presenting themselves as capable workers. Importantly, persons with sensory disabilities, job coaches, and employers articulated a hierarchy of disability through processes of marking, unmarking, and double marking. In this hierarchy, persons with sensory and physical disabilities rank first due to their positions as capable workers; persons with developmental and intellectual disabilities rank second because they were positioned as incapable workers; and persons with physical/sensory and mental disabilities rank last because they were positioned as destructive or dysfunctional workers. The hierarchy of disability revealed in my study provides insight into disability, identity, and employment, and may pave the way for further research exploring hierarchies and privileges across social institutions.