Papers by David Pettinicchio
The effects of disability and caregiving on work and perceptions of economic insecurity in Sweden, Italy, Germany, and the UK, 2026
Disability is associated with a range of structural disadvantages facing individuals and househol... more Disability is associated with a range of structural disadvantages facing individuals and households alike. Drawing from a recent online cross-national survey of Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the UK, we explore the relationships between disability, caregiving, employment, and perceived economic insecurity. We examine whether having a household member with disabilities increases the likelihood of caregiving, and whether both disability and caregiving shape employment outcomes as well as perceptions of economic insecurity. In addition to nding that people with disabilities are less likely to work, we also nd that individuals living in households with a disabled member are signi cantly more likely to engage in caregiving activities, which contributes to reduced employment. As a result, households that included a member with a disability tended to experience greater economic insecurity. We also nd that instances of providing care and perceptions of economic insecurity are comparatively greater in Italy. Together, these ndings point to important family and caregiving dynamics and their relationship to work and feelings of economic security in different policy contexts.
Contemporary Social Movements, 2025
The disability rights movement (DRM) transformed American culture and institutions. The movement’... more The disability rights movement (DRM) transformed American culture and institutions. The movement’s focus on government and policymaking, as well as on community building and changing attitudes and negative stereotypes of disability so prevalent in popular culture (see Foster and Pettinicchio 2022), empowered people with disabilities to challenge inequality on their terms. The DRM is often described as beginning “in the government” (Scotch 2001). The late-1960s and early-1970s saw policy efforts to address architectural barriers and to promote a civil rights agenda for people with disabilities. It was political entrepreneurship – the work of policymakers in US Congress and in certain federal government agencies – that led to the inclusion of antidiscrimination language in what became Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pettinicchio 2019). But, as frustrations with the
pace of the law’s implementation grew, activists began to adopt more direct-action tactics, including disruptive protest. By bringing the movement out of government policy circles and into the streets, activists helped galvanize broader public support for their cause.
The Sociological Quarterly , 2025
Although part-time work can provide important accommodations and yexibility for people with disab... more Although part-time work can provide important accommodations and yexibility for people with disabilities, the rise of contingent labor has left many of these workers in lower-paid jobs that are often associated with manual labor or routine service work. Why do people with disabilities work part-time? What are the benefts and drawbacks of parttime work, and do these vary across occupations? Using data from the 2013-2019 French Labor Force Survey (N = 122,033), we fnd that people with disabilities are more likely to work part-time across occupations, citing health reasons or the lack of full-time work opportunities. These higher rates of part-time work contribute to disabilityrelated earnings gaps, but even among part-time workers, people with disabilities earn less than those without disabilities and experience wage penalties that can vary across occupations. By focusing on the reasons for part-time work and its ejects across occupational groups, our analysis highlights structural factors-beyond disability statusthat shape employment outcomes and are not fully addressed by equal pay policies for part-and full-time workers.
Maroto, M. and Pettinicchio, D. (2025), "First Fired, Last Hired, and Lower Paid: Re-employment Outcomes Among Displaced Workers With Disabilities, 2007–2021", Hyseni, F., Schur, L., Kruse, D. and Blanck, P. (Ed.) Disability and the Future of Work (Research in Social Science and Disability, Vol. ..., 2025
People with disabilities continue to face significant barriers in the labor market. They are also... more People with disabilities continue to face significant barriers in the labor market. They are also more likely to experience job displacement, involuntary job loss typically resulting from broader exogenous forces (e.g., automation, economic downturns) that make workers no longer needed. What happens to displaced workers with disabilities? Do they find new jobs, and if they do, what jobs are they? We study re-employment outcomes among displaced workers with disabilities using data from the 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, and 2022 waves of the Current Population Survey Displaced Worker Supplement. We find that in addition to higher rates of displacement, workers with disabilities took longer to be re-employed than workers without disabilities with a decreased hazard for re-employment of about 30%. For those who found new jobs, earnings losses upon re-employment were 18% greater for people with disabilities when compared to those without disabilities. Although the relationship between disability and time-to-re-employment did not vary significantly over time, earnings differences between people with and without disabilities were smaller during the pandemic.
Social Inequalities , 2025
This chapter examines systems of social inequality and stratification across Canada. It first unp... more This chapter examines systems of social inequality and stratification across Canada. It first unpacks social inequality and its importance to the structuring and functioning of society. It highlights recent economic trends to illuminate the multidimensional nature of social inequality and its material outcomes for different status groups. It then shifts to theories of inequality and stratification to elucidate how Canadian social systems facilitate disparities across status groups. Drawing examples from employment and housing, we focus on processes and practices within specific social policy areas to describe how social structures determine patterns of social stratification across Canada. Throughout, it considers how social policies can either intentionally or inadvertently strengthen or diminish various types of inequality if they fail to recognize the complex, overlapping layers of disadvantage.
Critical Studies In Media Communication, 2025
Despite recent efforts toward inclusion within the legacy media
circuit, body diversity remains i... more Despite recent efforts toward inclusion within the legacy media
circuit, body diversity remains incredibly uncommon. This is
partly a function of industry conventions that standardize
appearance to mitigate against risk inherent in cultural
production. In contrast, social media are described as
“democratizing” beauty and promoting diversity. But these media
platforms still play a role in constraining boundaries around
aesthetic citizenship—a status conferred based on appearance. We
use aesthetic citizenship to inform an analysis of 300 online
images and advertisements posted by three beauty retailers:
Benefit, Sephora, and Dove. We find that representations of
disability remain rare even while other kinds of representation
along the lines of race, for example, are on the rise. We also note
that people who embody multiple dimensions of difference are
among the most likely to be excluded from images and
advertisements of beauty online. Beauty is connected to
boundary work and these findings highlight the relationship
between everyday representations of beauty and the
reproduction of inequality.
Sixty Years of Visible Protest in the Disability Struggle for Equality, Justice, and Inclusion
Abstract: Visible protests reflect both continuity and change. This Element illustrates how prote... more Abstract: Visible protests reflect both continuity and change. This Element illustrates how protest around long-standing issues and grievances is punctuated by movement dynamics as well as broader cultural and institutional environments. The disability movement is an example of how activist networks and groups strategically adapt to opportunity and threat, linking protest waves to the development of issue politics. The Element examines sixty years of protest across numerous issue areas that matter for disability including social welfare, discrimination, transportation, healthcare, and media portrayals. Situating visible protest in this way provides a more nuanced picture of cycles of contention as they relate to political and organizational processes, strategies and tactics, and short-and-long-term outcomes. It also provides clues about why protest ebbs and flows, when and how protest matters, who it matters for, and for what.
From recession to pandemic: Displacement among workers with disabilities from 2007 through 2021
Journal of vocational rehabilitation, Feb 15, 2024
BACKGROUND: With at least one-quarter of the U.S. adult population reporting one or more disabili... more BACKGROUND: With at least one-quarter of the U.S. adult population reporting one or more disabilities in 2020, people with disabilities represent a large and diverse group of individuals who often face significant barriers in the labor market, especially job displacement-involuntary job loss due to external factors. OBJECTIVE: We examine how rates of job displacement varied for people with different types of disabilities from 2007-2021, a period that includes the 2008 Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We use data from six waves of Current Population Study Displaced Worker Supplement (CPS DWS, N = 344,729) and a series of logistic regression models to examine differences in displacement by disability status and type. RESULTS: People with disabilities were approximately twice as likely as those without disabilities to experience job displacement, but more during times of economic turmoil. Although displacement disparities by disability status were decreasing from a high of 6.5 percentage points during the Great Recession, the pandemic increased the gap to 5.8 percentage points. CONCLUSION: Involuntary job loss among people with disabilities is exacerbated by exogenous shocks. We extend work on disability and displacement, incorporating the COVID-19 pandemic in our discussion of explanations of both labor market disadvantage and precarity.
Economic precarity and changing levels of anxiety and stress among Canadians with disabilities and chronic health conditions throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic
Canadian review of sociology, Jan 23, 2024
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple event stres- sors converged to exacerbate a growing ment... more Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple event stres- sors converged to exacerbate a growing mental health crisis in Canada with differing effects across status groups. However, less is known about changing mental health situations throughout the pandemic, especially among individuals more likely to experience chronic stress because of their disability and health status. Using data from two waves of a targeted online survey of peo- ple with disabilities and chronic health conditions in Canada (N = 563 individuals, June 2020 and July 2021), we find that approximately 25% of respondents experi- enced additional increases in stress and anxiety levels in 2021. These increases were partly explained by wors- ening perceived financial insecurity and, in the case of stress, additional negative financial effects tied to the pandemic. This paper understands mental health dis- parities as a function of social status and social group membership. By linking stress process models and a minority stress framework with a social model of disabil- ity, we allude to how structural and contextual barriers make functional limitations disabling and in turn, life stressors.
European Trade Union Institute , 2024
Despite changing attitudes around disability over time, people with disabilities still face large... more Despite changing attitudes around disability over time, people with disabilities still face large barriers to labour market participation. We apply a sociological framework that considers both supply- and demand-side explanations for labour market inequality to help understand the continuing earnings and employment disparities experienced by people with disabilities across countries. Specifically, we review reemployment disparities across different measures of disability, address sets of individual-level and structural explanations for these disparities, discuss how these explanations interact, and apply them to examples related to intersectionality, unionisation, contingent work, and employment in times of crisis. Paid employment is central to people’s social and economic wellbeing within liberal market-based economies, making it important to understand the many dimensions of labour market inequality.
Uploads
Papers by David Pettinicchio
pace of the law’s implementation grew, activists began to adopt more direct-action tactics, including disruptive protest. By bringing the movement out of government policy circles and into the streets, activists helped galvanize broader public support for their cause.
circuit, body diversity remains incredibly uncommon. This is
partly a function of industry conventions that standardize
appearance to mitigate against risk inherent in cultural
production. In contrast, social media are described as
“democratizing” beauty and promoting diversity. But these media
platforms still play a role in constraining boundaries around
aesthetic citizenship—a status conferred based on appearance. We
use aesthetic citizenship to inform an analysis of 300 online
images and advertisements posted by three beauty retailers:
Benefit, Sephora, and Dove. We find that representations of
disability remain rare even while other kinds of representation
along the lines of race, for example, are on the rise. We also note
that people who embody multiple dimensions of difference are
among the most likely to be excluded from images and
advertisements of beauty online. Beauty is connected to
boundary work and these findings highlight the relationship
between everyday representations of beauty and the
reproduction of inequality.