UN Women has issued a strong call to recognize disability inclusion as an essential component of advancing global gender equality. Marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, the organization stressed that women and girls with disabilities continue to face significant barriers in voting, accessing justice, benefiting from technology, and participating fully in society.

Highlighting the importance of intersectionality, UN Women noted that inequalities such as sexism, ableism, racism, ageism, and classism often overlap, creating unique and compounded challenges. Women and girls with disabilities shoulder disproportionate unpaid care work and frequently encounter stigma, limited economic opportunities, and inadequate support systems.

UN Women is advocating for a global “care revolution” to build equitable, disability-inclusive care systems that value unpaid labour and ensure dignity for caregivers and those receiving care. The organization also emphasized the transformative potential of assistive and digital technologies, while warning that AI systems can reinforce bias when people with disabilities—especially women—are excluded from their design.

The agency urged policymakers to strengthen legal protections, improve accessibility within justice systems, and adopt universal design in emerging technologies. UN Women reaffirmed that progressing gender equality and disability rights together is essential to creating inclusive, just, and equitable societies worldwide.

Source: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2025/12/why-disability-inclusion-womens-rights-and-equality-are-inseparable