IntroductionPeople with disabilities are disadvantaged when entering and remaining in the labor market. This is due to the specific principles and values ​​that Western society has organized around profit maximization and competition among workers. (Barnes, 2003 P. 1) This specific set of values ​​and principles prevents people with disabilities from participating in the workforce due to “environmental and cultural barriers associated with capitalism” (Barnes, 2003 P. 2). To justify the disadvantages in the labor market for people with disabilities, this essay will now examine these disadvantages by first examining the historical context of disability in the labor market and then clarifying how education has prevented people with disabilities from participating to the labor market and verifying the three main disadvantages that people with disabilities encounter when accessing or participating in the labor market. Historical Review of Disability in the Labor Market In the 18th century, considerable developments took place in land commercialization, agriculture, and industrialization that changed society economically and culturally. The shift away from “cottage industries to factory-based systems” (Oliver and Barnes 1998, p. 30) led to the creation of a wage labor market. Due to the fast pace of work in factories, being physically able-bodied was a necessity to work. As Ryan and Thomas state: “The speed of factory work, the imposed discipline, the respect for time and production standards – all of this was a very unfavorable change from the slower, more self-determined and more flexible ways of working. which many disabled people used. been integrated."(1980, P.101)This led to society being segregated...... middle of paper ......ination: an argument for anti-discrimination legislation", [ online], available: http: //disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library/Barnes-disabled-people-and-discrim-ch3.pdf. [accessed March 18, 2014]. Oliver, M. and Barnes, C. (1998) 'Disabled people and social policy: from exclusion to inclusion', London: Longman. Ryan, J. and Thomas, F. (1980), “The Politics of Mental Disability”, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (1974) Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation: Policy Statement (1974/5), [online], available: http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library /UPIAS-fundamental-principles.pdf [accessed 6 April 2014]United Nations (2006) United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, [online], available: http://www.un.org/disabilities/ convention/conventionfull.shtml [accessed March 4 2014]