Disability in the Digital Age: Socio-Digital Inclusion, Political Participation, and Telework

Digital technology has become central to contemporary public administration, transforming how governments deliver services and enabling civic participation. However, this transformation has also exacerbated inequalities, particularly for people with disabilities. This dissertation, Disability in the Digital Age: Socio-Digital Inclusion, Political Participation, and Telework, examines how disability status shapes access, use, and participation outcomes across three spheres of citizenship: everyday digital inclusion, online political participation, and employment retention through telework. Drawing on social equity theory, the capabilities approach, the civic voluntarism model, and job demands-resources theory, this research conceptualizes digital inclusion as more than access to technology, emphasizing the ability to meaningfully use digital tools to achieve social, civic, and economic outcomes. The study uses nationally representative data from the U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS), specifically the Computer and Internet Use Supplement and the Voluntary and Civic Life Supplement. It employs survey-weighted regression techniques and the Heckman Selection Model to analyze digital inequality. The first essay analyzes trends in internet and device use among people with disabilities, showing increased use in the post-pandemic era but persistent gaps in specific activities and among individuals with multiple or independent living disabilities. The second essay applies the Civic Voluntarism Model to online political participation, using a two-step Heckman selection approach to account for unequal internet access. It finds that while people with disabilities are not inherently less politically engaged online, disparities in resources, psychological engagement, and digital access constrain participation. The third essay examines telework as a mechanism for employment retention, finding that while telework is generally associated with higher retention, its benefits vary across disability types. Overall, the findings show that digital technologies can promote inclusion but may also introduce new forms of exclusion. Digital inequality operates across interconnected domains, creating compounding disadvantages that may threaten democratic participation and economic inclusion. This dissertation contributes to public administration scholarship by centering disability in digital governance and extending equity-oriented frameworks to inform more inclusive digital policies.