Jiahui Zeng

🧭 About Me

Hi there!

I am Jiahui Zeng, a researcher in disability policy.

Although I have been a wheelchair user who requires personal assistance since a young age, thanks to the support of my family and school, I was able to enjoy my school life much like any other child — studying hard, making friends, and rarely encountering major barriers in my education.

When I was young, many people told me that I should become a writer and share my story to inspire others. It was both a compliment on my language skills and a recognition of my unique life experience. Perhaps, unspoken but implied, they also considered it a job that could be done from home, without the need for commuting.

In some ways, I have fulfilled that expectation: I work with words and produce research articles. But in many other ways, I have gone far beyond what people imagined. I left my hometown to attend university, pursued my master’s degree in another city, and eventually moved to a different country for my PhD studies.

Through this journey, I have learned that some of the assumptions people had were not entirely true. Even as someone who needs daily personal assistance, I can still pursue academic knowledge and develop professional skills in universities, not just at home. However, I also recognize that while school life may be relatively smooth, the transition to the workplace and professional life presents a very different set of challenges — especially for people with disabilities who require personal assistance.

And it is exactly these challenges that have become the starting point of my research.

🧭 My Research

My research focuses on the challenges faced by people with disabilities who require personal assistance in pursuing professional careers.

In some countries, personal assistance services are partially financed by the government or insurance systems. However, these services often cannot be used during working hours, as assistance in the workplace is considered the employer's responsibility under the principle of reasonable accommodation. While there are some government or organizational programs that provide support, these programs are often fragmented and difficult to apply for. Many of them cover only a limited portion of working hours, or are temporary and transitional. As a result, many individuals with disabilities — even those with strong educational backgrounds and professional skills — are left with no choice but to give up employment and instead rely on social safety nets.

Through my research, I have identified two major issues that contribute to this situation.

The first issue is that of responsibility. Governments argue that workplace personal assistance should be provided by employers, while companies often view this as a significant financial burden — sometimes even exceeding the worker’s salary. Unlike one-time infrastructure accommodations, which may also benefit other employees, workplace personal assistance is an ongoing, individualized, and often costly service. For many small and medium-sized enterprises, this financial responsibility can be overwhelming. As a result, neither party is willing to fully assume the responsibility, leaving people with disabilities caught in the middle.

In my work, I explore not only the issue of responsibility, but also the rights of people with disabilities to receive workplace personal assistance, in order to ensure equal employment opportunities alongside their non-disabled peers — much like the right to personal assistance that was advocated for in the independent living movement.

The second issue is the financial challenge. Although it is widely acknowledged that workplace personal assistance can be costly, there is limited research quantifying both the expenses and the potential financial benefits — such as increased employment participation, higher income tax revenue, and reduced reliance on social welfare programs. My research addresses this gap by conducting cost-benefit analysis of workplace personal assistance systems funded through public finance.

Of course, many additional factors also influence the employment of people with disabilities. If you are interested in discussing these topics further, please feel free to contact me.

🎯 Recent & Ongoing Work

✏️ Japan's Reform of the Workplace Personal Assistance Services System

This study is a policy analysis of Japan’s newly reformed Workplace Personal Assistance Services (WPAS) system. Although the reform aims to address the fragmentation of WPAS provision in Japan, it has resulted in a seemingly well-rounded but also highly complex system that remains difficult to access and navigate.
My research examines the underlying reasons behind this partially successful yet partially failed reform.
This research has been accepted and will be presented at the 2025 European Disability Research Conference (ALTER 2025) in Innsbruck this July.

✏️ Review Paper on Workplace Personal Assistance (2010–2024)

When I first began studying WPAS, I found that prior research on this topic was limited, with the last comprehensive review dating back to 2011.
To build a foundation for my own research, I conducted a multilingual literature review on WPAS studies, covering the systems and practices in the United States, United Kingdom, South Korea, Sweden, Austria, and Poland.
I have completed the draft of this review paper, which is currently under submission to a journal.

🏛 Education

University of Tokyo — Ph.D. Program

Tokyo, Japan | 2023 – Expected 2027
Research Field: Disability and Social Policy

University of Tokyo — Master of Public Policy

Tokyo, Japan | 2021 – 2023
Concentration: International Relations and Public Management

Renmin University of China — M.A. in World History

Beijing, China | 2018 – 2021

Jinan University — B.A. in History

Guangzhou, China | 2014 – 2018

In the past decade, I have devoted most of my daily life to studying and research.

During my undergraduate and first master’s degree, I immersed myself in the field of history. While studying mainstream historical narratives, I also became interested in the often-overlooked stories of people with disabilities throughout history — for example, the welfare services provided by the church during the medieval period. To explore these topics more deeply, I studied Latin, German, and French, which allowed me to access archives, historical documents, and academic literature in multiple languages.

At the same time, I began to encounter news reports about the growing development of accessibility in urban design and newly established disability rights legislation. Yet, despite these advancements, I continued to hear stories of children with disabilities being denied access to education, and of those who managed to earn university degrees still struggling to find suitable employment opportunities.

It was during this period that I realized how fortunate I had been — able to pursue my studies without worrying too much about barriers that many of my disabled peers faced. However, I also understood that eventually, when I entered the job market, I too would face many of the same systemic challenges. I hoped that, in some way, I could contribute not only for myself but also for my peers.

This led me to shift my academic focus. I chose to pursue my second master’s degree in public policy, where I began conducting research on employment policy for people with disabilities. To be honest, I do not know whether my research will make a significant difference or how much it may contribute to improving the situation. But I am committed to working hard and producing the best research I can.

Public Engagement

Beyond academic work, I also engage with the broader society by sharing my perspectives and experiences through media platforms and contributing to self-advocacy activities in collaboration with non-profit organizations.