Problematising the Problem: Exploring How Hearing Privilege Fosters Employment Inequality for Deaf People

Employment inequality is recognised as a problem for deaf people. What is rarely understood is that what often lies behind that inequality is less a “deaf-centered” problem, but rather the issue of “hearing privilege”. Hearing privilege refers to the unearned advantage granted to hearing people on the basis of their hearing identity in a society characterised by ableism. Despite a proliferation of research on the employment disadvantage experienced by deaf people, hearing people continue to dominate in leadership positions in deaf community voluntary organisations. By drawing upon scholarship from Privilege Studies and social justice education, this article “problematises the problem” by discussing the importance of viewing deaf people’s experience of disadvantage through the prism of hearing privilege. The article offers insight into how privilege awareness workshops can be hugely influential in educating hearing people about their privilege and encouraging them to take responsibil-ity for challenging their unearned advantage.