My work life story #fitforwork

This post is part of The Broken of Britain's #fitforwork campaign.

I'm renowned among my friends for the variety of jobs(/careers?) I've had. Part, though not all, of that has been because of my health - having to give up on jobs I was doing and find something else I'm able to do.

As a child I was as healthy as most kids, apart from a succession of severe ENT infections. When I was 15 I developed major epilepsy (grand mal fits). Tests didn't show any cause, but fortunately it could be controlled by medication. The first medication turned me into a zombie, and the second would subsequently turn out to have made me infertile, but yeah, whatever.

In my final year of university, when I'd be aged about 21 or 22, I became clinically depressed for the first time. The Student Health Centre were sympathetic, but offered no treatment. They suggested I should speak to my professor, who looked at me like I'd suddenly sprouted an extra limb or a third eye or something! He clearly had no idea how to deal with this situation.

So, finally into the world of work, and already with a few long-term illlnesses hanging round my neck like albatrosses. I first worked in retailing, and was unfortunate enough to suffer bullying from my immediate manager (a complicated situation, to do with his partner running the store that was my immediate competitor in the company). The stress obviously didn't help my health status, and I ended up with irritable bowel syndrome to add to the rest. Finally, I got made redundant from that job when the shop was closed down.

After a few months of unemployment I was taken on by the civil service. I discovered that lightning can strike in the same place twice, as again I was a victim of bullying by my boss. Looking back with hindsight, I can see that he was taking out his own insecurities on me - but that didn't help me at the time. In fact, I subsequently discovered that his bullying was well known by head office, but it was "easier" to leave him where he was than do something about it.

It was as a result of this bullying that I finally had a complete nervous breakdown, and was discovered crying in my office by a colleague. I had been sitting all morning with 6 files, trying to decide which to deal with first, and completely unable to. After I had been off sick for over a year with anxiety and depression, I was offered ill health retirement.

So. That was me, aged 37. A pensioner. And I didn't want to be, you know? I mean, the money's welcome and all, I don't refuse it, but I'd far rather be doing something. So I started trying to make a bit of money out of what had previously been a hobby - teaching first aid. I taught round various schools, churches, synagogues, PTAs, and so on.

After a couple of years, I saw a job advertised by a charity for a part-time training officer - teaching first aid and AED (defibrillation - you know, the electric shock machine for the heart?) and I got that. I'd done that for 18 months when suddenly I started passing out all over the place. I even got carted off to A&E once, when I did it 200 miles from home. And even when I was actually conscious, I was exhausted...and bits of me really, really hurt...and I had spasms in my muscles...and I was weeing all the time...and and and...

It took two years, but finally I got a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. I now don't get out much, because of fatigue. I use a wheelchair when my walking's bad or I have more than a few steps to go. I still don't want to be sitting around. What I'd like to be is a writer. Anyone want a semi-comatose, housebound, ouchie, permanently on the loo writer? Goawn!

Women and disability - the burden of double inequality

Today is International Women's Day 2011! The aim of IWD is to celebrate women's achievements, while also drawing attention to the inequalities that women still face.

The burden of disability varies, depending on your sex. Some disabilities are more likely to happen to men than to women, or vice versa. For instance, considerably more women than men develop MS - four times as many in 2000, and it is thought that the gender gap is still widening. The reason for this difference is not known, although it may be partly genetic.

Other disabilities are more common among men, a prime example being spinal cord injury. Again the ratio is 4:1, but this time it is four times as many men who are affected. In this case, the difference is thought to be mainly due to higher frequencies of  "risk-taking" behaviour among young men (typically, a spinal cord injury occurs when the individual is between 20 and 40). More than half of the injuries occur in road traffic collisions, with the remainder most often happening in falls, industrial accidents, sports, or (rarely) violence.

When an individual is disabled, they frequently encounter disadvantage. For instance, compared with a non-disabled, younger white man in a relationship, a disabled person in the UK has over 15% less chance of finding paid work. Similarly, a woman in a relationship and without children has nearly 10% less chance, and a mother of young children in a relationship over 35% less chance.

In 2006, 90 per cent of those with no "disadvantage" in the UK were in work, compared to 80 per cent of those with one "disadvantage" and around 50 per cent of those with two. Being a disabled woman is considerably more disadvantageous than being a disabled man (though both, of course, are disadvantaged compared to able-bodied men). It also seems that having two or more "disadvantages" may multiply the problems experienced: it's not just a case of adding them together.

 

The situation in the developing world is even more extreme. Women make up the three-quarters of the people with disabilities in developing countries. Current estimates are that:

• Women with disabilities make up at least 10% of all women globally
• Women in general are more likely than men to become disabled because of poorer working conditions, poor access to quality healthcare, and gender-based violence
• Only 25% of women with disabilities are in the global workforce
• Because of increased risk of gender-based violence and lack of access to reproductive health care services, women with disabilities face unique challenges in preventing HIV infection
• Literacy rates for women with disabilities globally may be as low as 1%
• Mortality rates amongst girls with disabilities are much higher than for boys with disabilities 

Much has been done in the fight to counter inequalities against both women and disabled people, but much more work remains to be done. Let's fight together for a future where all citizens of the world are equal, and have an equal chance in life!