Skip to main content
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact

Search form

American Institutes for Research

  • Our Work
    • Education
    • Health
    • International
    • Workforce
    • ALL TOPICS >
  • Our Services
    • Research and Evaluation
    • Technical Assistance
  • Our Experts
  • News & Events

You are here

  • Home
15 Dec 2014
Report

An Uneven Playing Field: The Lack of Equal Pay for People With Disabilities

Michelle Yin, Dahlia Shaewitz, and Mahlet Megra

Man in a wheelchair looking out an office windowFor people with disabilities, does attaining educational success equal to that of their non-disabled peers ensure opportunities for financial independence and success? The existing disability literature compares earnings and income between people with disabilities and those without, examines employment rates among people with different types of disabilities, and identifies labor market outcomes for specific populations with disabilities (e.g., male heads of households and post-high school young adults).

However, the current research does not describe the income difference between people with disabilities and their non-disabled counterparts in full-time employment by educational level. Nor does it describe the subsequent economic impact on individuals, states, or the nation. To address this gap in research, our study focuses on two pertinent questions:

  1. Do earnings differ between these two groups after accounting for educational attainment and workforce participation?
  2. If so, how great is that discrepancy and what is its economic impact?

Key Findings

The answers to those questions are alarming. Despite educational attainment, earnings inequalities certainly exist between the two groups, and surprisingly the gap actually widens as educational attainment increases.

  • The greatest earnings inequalities occur among those with a master’s degrees or higher.
  • The U.S. economy would have received an additional $141 billion in 2011—roughly 1% of the gross domestic product—if people with disabilities were paid comparably to those without.
  • The earnings difference from people with disabilities would have translated into another $25 billion in federal taxes and $6.5 billion in state taxes.
PDF icon An Unequal Playing Field: Lack of Equal Pay for People with Disabilities

Related Work

14 Dec 2014
News Release

Those with Disabilities Earn 37% Less on Average; Gap is Even Wider in Some States

Workers with disabilities who have at least a high school education earn 37 percent less on average than their peers without disabilities, a disparity costing federal and state governments up to $31.5 billion in potential tax revenue, finds an AIR analysis.

Further Reading

  • Those with Disabilities Earn 37% Less on Average; Gap is Even Wider in Some States
  • Despite Federal Efforts to Aid Employment of People with Disabilities, Labor Participation Has Dropped or Remained Stagnant, AIR Study Finds
  • AIR Index: The Pay Gap for Workers with Disabilities
  • Improving Lives for People with Disabilities in the Workplace and the Marketplace
  • What the Pay Gap for Disabled Workers Costs Them and the Nation
Share

Contact

Michelle Yin

Michelle Yin

Principal Economist

Topic

Workforce
Disability and Rehabilitation
Human Capital

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

About Us

About AIR
Board of Directors
Leadership
Experts
Clients
Contracting with AIR
Contact Us

Our Work

Education
Health
International
Workforce

Client Services

Research and Evaluation
Technical Assistance

News & Events

Careers at AIR


Search form


 

Connecting

FacebookTwitterLinkedinYouTubeInstagram

American Institutes for Research

1400 Crystal Drive, 10th Floor
Arlington, VA 22202-3289
Call: (202) 403-5000
Fax: (202) 403-5000

Copyright © 2020 American Institutes for Research®.  All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap