WwDs (Women with Dissabilities)

Since the 1970's an increase awareness regarding disabled women has come to play in today's society. It is estimated that over 36 million people in the U.S. have some kind of disabling condition. The population of disabled is increasingly higher with women then it is with men. Many factors make it possible for these figures to hold truth. Women now a days live longer then men and women out number men in general. However, when it comes to the work field, disabled women are discriminated against more then disabled men. "Although, physical restrictions play a significant role, social restrictions generated by negative attitudes impose greater hadicaps, because socially created barriers effectively prevent full community participation."(Deegan and Brooks,1985). Despite the attention to the disability movement, no recognition has been given to the disabled women.
Disabled women are being sterotyped, assuming the are not capable of performance, eventhough she may have the same disability as another disabled man. The reason is because a lot of the energy has been focused on male experiences. For example employment issues. It is estimated that between 65% to 76% disabled women are unemployed. The numbers are higher unfortunately for the disabled older women. These are the ones who live longer and out number men. This is an epidemic because most of these elderly women do not have family members that would take them in or offer some kind of support.
The movement has made a change for the better. Many disabled women have accomplish personal goals, that a bodied able women would never conquer. A perfect example is Helen Keller, not only did she help the movement as well, she was a public speaker who represented disabled women with more then one disability. Her story is a perfect example of someone who was blind, deaf, and mute and yet was able to communicate with the world about her experiences.