Social Security disability's standardized measures and procedural safeguards are intended to ensure that applicants with similar injuries or illnesses will be treated similarly in the eligibility determination process. These form the basis on which the U.S. Government can promise its citizens that the Social Security System will be fair and equitable to all who apply. It has been argued, however, that eligibility determination is biased by virtue of the existence of "gendered" concepts in the official Listings of Impairments, in the medical judgments made for the record by physicians, and in the hearings and decisions of Administrative Law Judges. It is suggested that these "gendered" concepts result in some applicants being ignored, categorized or stereotyped based on gender. If this argument is correct, the standardized measures may be biased and the procedural safeguards ineffective. It is important, therefore, to determine whether or not such "gendered" biasing occurs. This doctoral dissertation will examine the application of the Listings of Impairments and concomitant medical judgments to 150 closed cases that were denied and then appealed to the federal courts in order to identify any unstated assumptions and norms influencing the process. Cases will be selected from federal courts in Dallas, San Francisco and Boston (representing three different geographical regions). The proposed analysis will include full transcripts of administrative hearings and judicial decisions as well as the criteria in the Listings of Impairments and the internal rules and regulations of the Social Security System. These texts will be subjected to various forms of qualitative analysis, including computerized content analysis based on appropriate coding categories. This research will make an important contribution toward enhancing fairness and equity in the Social Security System. It will also contribute to our theoretical understanding of how possibly biased (but conventional) assumptions affect judicial and quasi-judicial decision-making.
