The employment rights of people with serious mental illness in Ontario: considering the influence of dominant ideology on marginalizing practices

Abstract

A variety of explanations have been offered to account for the limited employment of people who experience serious mental illness (SMI) in northeastern Ontario. However, a rights perspective has not been one of them. This paper discusses some of the findings of a larger qualitative case study that may be pertinent to a discussion of rights. While state policy has been largely encouraging participation in employment, people with SMI continue to be marginalized from mainstream employment. In the community studied, more than 91% were experiencing unemployment. The state’s adoption of neoliberal ideology within employment supports programs, with associated ideas of individualism, competition and equality of opportunity, could be argued to marginalize people who experience SMI from employment, limiting their right to employment. Occupational therapists are encouraged to bring a rights perspective to political and public attention, so that employment (and other occupations) becomes a part of the mental health services discourse.