The identity dynamics of people with disabilities: a study in Brazil and in the United States/A dinamica identitaria de pessoas com deficiencia: um estudo no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos/La dinámica identitaria de las personas con discapacidad: un estudio en Brasil y Estados Unidos

• Published in: Revista de administração Mackenzie 2015-01, Vol.16 (1), p.40
• Main Authors: Moreira, Lilian Barros, Cappelle, Monica Carvalho Alves, De Carvalho-Freitas, Maria Nivalda
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• ISSN: 1518-6776
• DOI: 10.1590/1678-69712015/administracao.v16n1p40-61

Diversity is a very complex and controversial issue. It embraces the so-called "minorities", not in numerical terms but in terms of power. The groups that compose the minorities are the black, the disabled, women and the indigenous, among others. Although there are advances in this discussion, including in the legislation field, there are still gaps when it comes to employment for these minorities. For this paper, we chose, among the minorities, people with disabilities (PWDs), because according to the International Labor Organization (2010), they represent 10% of the world's population, among which approximately 72% are at the working age. The objective of this paper was to understand the identity dynamics of PWDs inserted in work organizations, located in Brazil and in the United States. To this end, we elaborated a theoretical framework mainly based on the identity from a sociological approach by Dubar (2005). We opted for an exploratory and qualitative research, based on an interpretive approach. The techniques of data collection used were semi-structured interviews and documentary research. Interviews were conducted with twelve PWDs in Brazil and eight in the United States, men and women. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed through content analysis. In both countries the jobs of the interviewed PWDs appeared as an important tool to give meaning to their lives. Moreover, one of the main obstacles faced by the interviewed PWD with regard to employment was the disability itself. Thus, it was possible to notice a conflict between who they are and whom they think they should be in order to work. It was observed that the individual's identity is a result of the movements of construction and reconstruction of his or her (many) identities and that one cannot identify oneself only with one's eyes; instead, they need to see through someone else's eyes. KEYWORDS Identity. Identity dynamics. People with disabilities. Work. Organization. A diversidade e um tema bastante complexo e controverso. Engloba as chamadas "minorias" nao em termos numericos, mas em termos do exercicio do poder. Compoem as minorias os negros, pessoas com deficiencia, mulheres, indigenas e outros. Embora haja avancos nessa discussao, inclusive na legislacao, ainda se observam lacunas quando se fala do trabalho para essas minorias. Para o presente trabalho, escolheram-se, entre as minorias, as pessoas com deficiencia (PCDs), pois, segundo a Organizacao Internacional do Traba