Abstract Economic liberalisation and labour market reforms have radically transformed China’s socio-economic landscape. Although awareness of disability equality has improved – particularly following the introduction and enforcement of disability quota schemes – existing research has not yet adequately explored the lived experiences of disabled individuals within these frameworks. This deficiency is especially glaring in the context of public-sector employment, which is often considered a more stable and secure option for workers. Using institutional theory and its three-pillar framework from W.R. Scott’s Institutions and organizations: Ideas, interests, and identities , this paper aims to fill this research gap by investigating key institutional features of public-sector employment, focusing on bianzhi , pre-employment physical examinations and workplace social dynamics. By doing so, it aims to assess the real-world impact of progressive policies such as disability quotas on disabled workers. Our findings indicate that structural institutional barriers continue to impede and marginalise disabled employees in the public-employment sector, underlining the need for a more robust and collaborative strategy to elevate awareness of disability equality in China.
Shi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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