Digital Competences as a Precondition for an Inclusive Digital Economy - Is There a Gender Gap Among Persons with Disabilities in Serbia?

Main Article Content

Milena Lazić
Valentina Vukmirović
Jelena Banović
Vladimir Simović
Mihailo Paunović

Abstract

Digital labour platforms provide lower barrier access to employment and income generation for all, having a great potential to create almost equal opportunities for persons with different forms of disabilities to engage in the labour market while contributing to their inclusive employment. However, to be able to provide adequate services to their distant employers, remote workers must possess a sufficient level of digital competences, skills and knowledge. Accordingly, the paper seeks to assess the level of digital competences of persons with disabilities in Serbia and to establish whether there are any gender-related differences in that regard. The results obtained aim to identify the gap between the existing and required competences for starting an entrepreneurial venture or finding a job using freelance platforms. The paper’s main contribution reflects the fact that digital competences of persons with disabilities in Serbia in the context of their self-employment are a topic insufficiently explored in the existing literature.

Article Details

Section
Articles

References

1. Banjo, Shelly, Yap, Livia, Murphy, Colum and Chan, Vinichy. 2020. "The Coronavirus Outbreak Has Become the World's Largest Work-From-Home Experiment". Retrieved from: https://time.com/5776660/coronavirus-work-from-home/. (accessed September 4, 2022)
2. Burstrom, Bo, Whitehead, Margaret, Lindholm, Christina and Diderichsen, Finn. 2000. Inequality in the Social Consequences of Illness: How Well Do People with Long-Term Illness Fare in the British and Swedish Labor Markets?. International Journal of Health Services, 30(3): 435–51.
3. Chinoracky, Roman and Čorejova, Tatiana. 2019. Impact of Digital Technologies on Labor Market and the Transport Sector. Transportation Research Procedia, 40: 994-1001.
4. Emsi & Burning glass. 2021. The Digital Talent Forecast: Mapping the Evolving Role of Digital Skills in a Dynamic Labor Market. Retrieved from: https://www.economicmodeling.com/2021/08/11/the-digital-talent-forecast/ (accessed September 2, 2022)
5. European Commission. 2021. Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030.
6. European Commission. 2021. The European Pillar of Social Rights in 20 principles. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/economy-works-people/jobs-growth-and-investment/european-pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en (accessed September 5, 2022)
7. Field, Andy. 2009. Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.
8. Gig Economy Data Hub (n/a). What is a gig worker? Retrieved from: https://www.gigeconomydata.org/basics/what-gig-worker. (accessed September 4, 2022)
9. Huang, Chun I. and Chen, Roy K. 2014. Employing People With Disabilities in the Taiwanese Workplace: Employers' Perceptions and Considerations. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 59(1): 43-54.
10. ILO & Fundacion ONCE. 2021. An inclusive digital economy for people with disabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/disability-and-work/WCMS_769852/lang--en/index.htm. (accessed September 4, 2022)
11. ILO & OECD. 2018. Labour market inclusion of people with disabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---inst/documents/publication/wcms_646041.pdf (accessed September 6, 2022)
12. ILO. 2018. Digital labour platforms and the future of work. Towards decent work in the online world. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_645337/lang--en/index.htm. (accessed September 4, 2022)
13. ILO. 2021. Can digital labour platforms create fair competition and decent jobs? Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/infostories/en-GB/Campaigns/WESO/World-Employment-Social-Outlook-2021#introduction (accessed September 5, 2022)
14. Ivanović, Đina, Simović, Vladimir, Domazet, Ivana and Antonijević, Marija. 2021. Average Matching Levels for Two DigComp Competence Areas of the Female Entrepreneurs in Serbia. Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education, 3-4: 42-60. https://doi.org/10.28934/jwee21.34.pp42-60
15. IzKruga. 2021. Obuka i mentorska podrška za žene sa invaliditetom za profesionalno usavršavanje. Retrieved from: https://izkruga.org/2021/02/03/obuka-i-mentorska-podrska-za-zene-sa-invaliditetom-za-profesionalno-usavrsavanje/ (accessed September 6, 2022)
16. IzKruga. 2021. Softverske obuke sa osobe sa invaliditetom. Retrieved from: https://izkruga.org/2021/02/03/softverske-obuke-za-osobe-sa-invaliditetom/ (accessed September 6, 2022)
17. Kadijevich, Đorđe, Masliković, Dejan and Tomić Bojan M. 2020. Familiarity with State Regulations regarding Access to Information for Persons with Disabilities in Serbia. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education. Doi: 10.1080/1034912X.2020.1802646.
18. Kim, Kyung Mee and Hwang, Ju Hee. 2018. Exploring gaps in the online economic inclusion of persons with disabilities in Korea. Information, communication & society, 22(4): 570-581. Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1545039?journalCode=rics20 (accessed August 31, 2022)
19. Kitching, John. 2014. Entrepreneurship and self-employment by people with disabilities. OECD & LEED. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/background-report-people-disabilities.pdf (accessed August 30, 2022)
20. Kluzer, Stefano and Padroni Rodolfo. 2018. Digital Competences Development System – Contents of the Self-Assessment Tool. (accessed August 3, 2022)
21. Krstić, Ivan and Beker, Kosana. 2017. Situaciona analiza – Poslovna sposobnost i osobe sa invaliditetom u Srbiji. Retrieved from: https://www.mdri-s.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SitAn-Poslovna-sposobnost-i-osobe-sa-invaliditetom-u-Srbiji.pdf. (accessed September 4, 2022)
22. Lazić, Milena, Domazet, Ivana, Vukmirović, Valentina and Banović, Jelena. 2022. Strategic Framework for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Online (Platform) Work. 27th International Scientific Conference Strategic Management and Decision Support Systems in Strategic Management, 397-404. Faculty of Economics, Subotica.
23. Mamula Nikolić, Tatjana, Nećak, Mirjana and Blažanin, Barbara. 2019. Unapređenje zapošljivosti dugoročno nezaposlenih osoba sa invaliditetom: Izveštaj iz istraživanja položaja osoba sa invaliditetom na tržištu rada u Beogradu, Kragujevcu, Nišu i Novom Sadu. Beograd: Forum mladih sa invaliditetom.
24. Marković, Milan. 2014. Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i stanova 2011. u Republici Srbiji – Osobe sa invaliditetom u Srbiji. Retrieved from: https://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Invaliditet.pdf. (accessed September 4, 2022)
25. Marsh, Elizabet, Perez Vallejos, Elvira and Spence, Alexa. 2022. The digital workplace and its dark side: An integrative review. Computers in Human Behavior, 128. Doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2021.107118.
26. Masiero, Silvia. 2021. Digital Platform Workers under COVID-19: A Subaltern Perspective. Retrieved from: https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/e4f65ccf-15b6-4e3f-8c0f-5cf977f39284/content. (accessed September 4, 2022)
27. OECD. 2019. An Introduction to Online Platforms and their Role in the Digital Transformation. https://www.oecd.org/innovation/an-introduction-to-online-platforms-and-their-role-in-the-digital-transformation-53e5f593-en.htm (accessed September 6, 2022)
28. Payoneer. 2019. The Global Gig-Economy Index: Cross-border freelancing trends that defned Q2 2019. Retrieved from: https://explore.payoneer.com/q2_global_freelancing_index/ (accessed September 6, 2022)
29. Pinilla-Roncancio, Monica and Gallardo, Mauricio. 2022. Inequality in labour market opportunities for people with disabilities: Evidence for six Latin American countries. Online first. Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14680181211070201?casa_token=EGKCE21CsRAAAAAA%3Ab-3NM_RCc45wy4Y2qSx4Xd36I-oKXxQREVzAF_hiEnbTELMYoPEqF_KPvvlXzAWLrmAaG7uYH-I& (accessed September 6, 2022)

Most read articles by the same author(s)