392: The National Deaf Economy, what?
Today's Question, for Deaf Community Members:
How do you see things in the nation as a whole for Deaf people? Are Deaf people more likely or less likely to be employed today than ten years ago? Are Deaf people more or less likely to be moving up the income ladder today than ten years ago? Are more or less of your friends employed? Is this better or worse employment? Have any of your friends lost jobs this year? What are your feelings about the future: fear? Confidence?
I'll post my thoughts over the weekend. Maybe in a vlog, if I have time; I want to do more.
About Me
- JRS
- ....WHO ARE YOU? I'm a writer from New York who's been a social worker, actor, dancer, teacher, and lately, a PhD student ....WHAT IS CRITICAL DEAF THEORY? Critical theory encourages us to reflect on and critique society, to look both inwards and outwards. I became interested early on in exploring one aspect of my identity, being Deaf. Thus, I tend to look at the world–both "theirs" and "ours" from a critical perspective. ....WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DO YOU WRITE? For me, writing is something I'm learning to do both in ASL and in English. In the past two years it's mostly been papers and dissertations, with bits of "juicy stuff" trapped within. I write nonfiction about Education and the Deaf Community from a historicist Deaf perspective. I also write fiction... and often it's about Deaf people.
7 comments:
I think employment opportunities for Deaf people are slightly better today than ten years ago.
The reason why I say slightly better is because I believe more Deaf people are employed today.
The majority of Deaf people employed are employed within the Deaf community and ten years ago, Deaf-impaired (hearing) people usually were in charge of institutions that dealt with Deaf people.
However I think the percent of Deaf people being unemployed may have not gone down very much.
For going up the ladder in the work place, I think Deaf people are climbing the ladder, but not as fast as their hearing co-workers are.
I have a Bachelors' degree in Business Adm. Management and have not been able to find a job related to my degree, but am employed in a processing plant while I continue to look for a business related position.
The outlook I have for employment opportunities remain bleak, now that there are cyborgs (people with cochlear implants) will employers choose to hire them (because they can hear and speak better) over Deaf people who refused to undergo the cyborg process?
Deaf people would be better off if they had their own country where they could oppress Deaf-impaired people and deny them employment opportunities.
Mike, thank you for your comment...
I think there's the opportunity to "get jobs" but not the opportunity to get better jobs. As long as we don't get to management positions - which would mean needing a lot of interpreters - they're happy to have Deaf people working for them.
I don't think the CI's make a difference. I've worked alongside people who have CI's and people who don't. Sometimes the CI-using person is more "disabled" and "demanding" than the person without a CI. It seems to be about personality more than about what you have in your head.
It's hard to tread the line between self-respect and "accepting reality" sometimes. When people don't see fit to let you know meetings are cancelled (because you require email, and they're phoning other people) or whatever annoying thing is happening...
I think we're all gonna be in this together.
We, deaf people could be out of jobs if there are more and more "voice-activated" technology within workplaces.
We better keep our eyes out on the rapidly changing society which we could go back to the lower socioeconomic ladder. Remmy the telephone?
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
I hope a time doesn't come when I cannot sell items on Ebay without using a voice "Skype-number". (not sure how it works...it's probably a VOIP method).
It's very hard to say...back when I entered the workforce, I never considered my deafness to be a terribly large obstacle to being employed.
But the older I get, the more I worry that age PLUS deafness will start to weigh more heavily against me. It's hard to say. My field of work has been hit hard anyway with outsourcing in general and a glut of qualified people.
It doesn't help either, that soon there will be a new generation of people with cochlear implants. People already have the attitude that you should "have one" if you are deaf.
I saw you on a vblog about saving the deaf theater. I'm really happy to hear about that! I'm a deaf photographer in Florida. I am also a poet. I liked your poem about feeling like a caged lion.
Julie Ann Lanz
thanks julie ann :)
BEG -
a lot of fields have been hit hard by outsourcing... like I said we're all gonna be in this together.
Post a Comment