Managing Stigma and Perpetuating Ableism: How Frontline Workers Navigate Disclosure When Encouraging Employers to Hire Disabled People

Although disability disclosure is extensively researched, little is known about how professionals disclose disability on behalf of others. This article examines how frontline workers involved in active labour market policies (ALMPs) employ stigma management strategies when encouraging employers to hire disabled people. As employer engagement is central to ALMPs, disclosure emerges as a critical site for analysis. The study draws on group interviews with Norwegian work inclusion professionals (counsellors, employment specialists, and market coordinators) who assist disabled jobseekers. A theoretical framework connecting stigma and ableism was developed, contributing to the sociology of work literature by analysing how ableist norms of productivity are contested and reproduced in their management of stigma. Analysis revealed four disclosure approaches: familiarisation, facilitation, targeting, and self-disclosing, shaped by individual and environmental factors. These approaches involve interpersonal contact and consideration of timing and selectivity, highlighting the dilemmatic nature of disclosure within welfare systems where ableism persists.