The Institute for Community Inclusion conducts research, provides
training and technical assistance, and delivers employment services to
people with disabilities. We have two projects about women with
disabilities and employment. One is a 3 year study funded by the National
Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research (NIDRR) and the other
is a 4 year project funded by the Women's Educational Equity Act Grant
Program. The NIDRR study, Working It Out Together: Women with Disabilities
and Employment, included a national survey of working women with
disabilities, a Boston area career development and networking training
program, and secondary analysis of national data. The WEEA study is the
College to Career Networks Project that is working with three colleges in
the Eastern Massachusetts area to improve employment outcomes for women
with disabilities graduating from those colleges. We are also starting up a
Statewide Coalition on Transition from College to Work for graduating
students with disabilities.
If you are interested in learning more about the ICI, please check
out our website at www.communityinclusion.org. Our biographies are
available at that location.
·Melanie Jordan, Cynthia Zafft, Cindy Thomas, and I are Project staff on
the College to Career Networks Project.
·Myra Rosen Reynoso, Cecilia Gandolfo, Joy Gould, and I are Project staff
on the Working It Out Together Project.
·Cecilia, Melanie, Cindy, and Joy have substantial experience in providing
employment supports to people with disabilities and providing training to a
broad range of people, organizations, and state agencies.
·Cynthia Zafft has worked extensively with community colleges and students
with disabilities.
·Myra and I work in the research division and use a variety of research
methods to evaluate the employment status of women with disabilities.
Some of the areas that we are interested in exploring:
1)What are the ways that women with disabilities explore career options and
expand those options?
2)Why do women with mild and moderate disabilities have less income parity
with men with mild and moderate disabilities than women without
disabilities or women with the most severe disabilities?
3)How do the social networks of women with disabilities influence their
career options and selection of work? What is the benefit of mentors and
peers?
4)About one third of women with disabilities live in poverty. What can be
done about this?
We are also recruiting men and women with disabilities in the Boston area
for focus groups in September and October. We would like to talk with
people who have graduated from a 2 year or 4 year college within the last
three years and have worked at least one year. Please contact us at
melanie.jordan@umb.edu or cynthia.zafft@umb.edu if you are interested.
Susan Foley and Team,
Senior Research Associate,Institute for Community
Inclusion,University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA
<foley_s@a1.tch.harvard.edu>
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