According to the American Psychological Association, socioeconomic status (SES) is defined as the measurement of an individual or group’s position on a socioeconomic scale based on the following five factors: educational attainment, occupation, income, wealth, and location of residency.
An individual or group’s SES can illustrate their access (or lack thereof) to financial, educational, social, and health resources. For example, high schools with abundant resources can hold a variety of Advance Placement (AP) courses. In turn, students who took AP classes may face a lower cost of attending universities and colleges because of their prior college credit attainment. In contrast, students who did not have access to AP courses may have to take more credit courses at college which would result in a higher cost of attendance. The ways and means by which high schools are funded enable resources and opportunities to influence students’ degree of accessibility to higher education.
Moving to “disability,” the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 defines the term as a physical or mental condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Furthermore, ADA considers major life activities to refer to functions important to people’s everyday lives (e.g., breathing, performing manual tasks) and major bodily functions (e.g., immune system functions, cell growth). Under ADA, the legislation prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and protects their civil rights.
At this point of the article, you may be asking yourself how do SES and disability intersect with each other?
While ADA legally protects people with disabilities from discrimination and obstruction of civil rights, the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers certified by the U.S. Department of Labor to pay their employees with disabilities at a lower rate than employees without disabilities. The difference in compensation based on abled or disabled bodies is a glaring example of how the U.S. government can influence not only the SES of people with disabilities (income and occupations) but also how our system of SES is grounded in ableism.
As discussed in an earlier edition of the Inclusive Language Series, we defined ableism as referring to a pervasive system of discrimination and exclusion that oppresses people with disabilities. Drawing back to our example of high schools’ access to AP courses, while a school can offer opportunities to earn college credits, these opportunities may not be equitable for students of all abilities. In addition, elements such as the physical environment of the school and the pedagogy teachers utilize for their courses can influence the receptivity of students with disabilities to engage in AP courses, which can influence later SES determinations.
Overall, the intersection of SES and disability is a multi-faceted and complex relationship that extends to all products of society: legislation, economic security, and health care. Intersectionality is an excellent framework for further examining and learning about the relationship between the two concepts.
Resources to Learn More
- American Psychological Association: Disability and Socioeconomic Status
- The Intersection of Poverty and Disability by Makahla Jackson (Medium)
- The World Bank: Disability Inclusion
- The Center for American Progress
- Center for Intersectional Justice
Upcoming Holidays & Observances
- Autism Acceptance Month – established to raise awareness about and acceptance of the developmental disability that impacts an individual’s experience of the world around them.
- Celebrate Diversity Month – was initiated in 2004 to recognize and honor the diversity surrounding us all. By celebrating differences and similarities during this month, organizers hope that people will gain a deeper understanding of each other
- Deaf History Month – This observance celebrates key events in deaf history, including the founding of Gallaudet University and the American School for the Deaf
- National Arab American Heritage Month – celebrates the Arab American heritage and culture and pays tribute to the contributions of Arab Americans and Arabic-speaking Americans.
- Genocide Remembrance – A month that marks important anniversaries for past and contemporary genocides. Throughout the month, individuals, communities and organizations join together to remember and honor victims and survivors of mass atrocities.
- Sikh Heritage Month – in Canada celebrates Sikh arts, culture, and heritage
- National Poetry Month – Introduced in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.
- 4/9/2025: Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan) – a national observance in the Philippines commemorating the fall of Bataan to Japanese troops during World War II.
- 4/10/2025: Mahavira Jayanti (Jainism) – a Jain holiday celebrating the birth of Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, the founder of Jainism.
- 4/12/2025: The Day of Silence – during which American students take a daylong vow of silence to protest the actual silencing of LGBTQ+ students and their straight allies due to bias and harassment.
- 4/12/2025: Lazarus Saturday (Eastern Orthodox Christian) – celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy to commemorate the raising from the dead of Lazarus of Bethany.
- 4/12/2025: Lord’s Evening Meal (Jehovah’s Witness Christians) – celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses to commemorate the event believed to have occurred on the first night of Passover that other Christians call the Last Supper.
- 4/12/2025-4/20/2025: Passover (Jewish) – an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.
- 4/13/2025: Palm Sunday (Christian) – a Christian holiday commemorating the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
- 4/13/2025: Theravada New Year (Buddhist) – In Theravada countries the New Year is celebrated on the first full moon day in April.
- 4/14/2025: Vaisakhi (Baisakhi) (Sikh) – a celebration of the founding of the Sikh community as the Khalsa (community of the initiated) and the birth of the Khalsa.