Gender and the Career Patterns of Persons with Disability in Malawi

Gender as a concept covers construction and allocation of roles within a specific society. This study focused on identifying the extent to which gender has impacted the lives of disabled or physically challenged persons in Malawi. Data was collected from the Malawi Council of the Handicapped (MACOHA) using both quantitative and qualitative methods. A total of fifty PWDs were interviewed from MACOHA branches in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Magomero as regards knowledge of gender and the impact of gender stereotypes on career choice. The study revealed that PWDs are aware of gender, that over the course of time they re-evaluated and re-defined gender to suit their circumstances and their situations. The newly enrolled defined gender by the text book definition, the workforce group focused its definition, on their challenges in terms of access to and control of career choices and options. As their environment and context changes, the person with disability customizes the definition of gender. Also noted during the study was that disability plays a major role in how people view the PWDs, the more visible the disability the more prejudice one experienced.