This paper serves as a think piece to initiate and drive strategic discussions and action with key partners on ageing, emphasizing a life-course approach that integrates perspectives on the status and rights of older women. As global demographics continue to shift, it suggests actions to promote the rights of older women, and the incorporation of their perspectives into all policies and programmes at the global, national and regional level.

This policy paper is focused on diverse groups of socially marginalized women with diverse disabilities. It highlights how the 12 critical areas of concern from the Beijing Platform for Action have progressed or faced continuing entrenched barriers and dealt with new challenges in the 30 years since the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing.

The focus is specifically on how gender inequality and disability exclusion both compound and create unique concerns for women and girls with disabilities. As they are not homogenous, this paper takes an intersectional approach, identifying the impacts for women and girls with disabilities facing numerous forms of discrimination while having different and multiple types of disabilities. Stereotypes and social and cultural norms are discussed in relation to stigma and discrimination.

The paper also features the voices of diverse women leaders with diverse disabilities, with case studies from various low- and middle-income countries.

The paper was produced as part of the development of the global report on accelerating disability inclusion in a diverse and changing world as well as a set of accompanying documents prepared for the Global Disability Summit 2025. Funding was provided by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany through UNICEF.

The United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on Gender and Disability Inclusion (UNWGGDI) collected case studies for the Beijing+30 review process, looking at lessons learned and good practices on gender, disability inclusion, and intersectionality. UN Women received a total 32 case studies from six UN entities (UN Women, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UNOPS) and two UN Country Teams represented by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Offices in India and Honduras.

In reflection of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, violence against women and women in power and decision-making were equally the most addressed critical areas in the case studies, while the critical areas around women and the environment as well as the girl child were equally the least addressed.

This knowledge compendium aims to share reflections for UN entities, Member States, policymakers, and civil society organizations. It synthesizes best practices, innovative approaches, and collaborative efforts to enhance sustainable development and human rights for all. By ensuring that the rights and needs of women and girls with disabilities are adequately addressed, this document reinforces the commitment of the UN system and its stakeholders to a more equitable and inclusive future.

UN Women is fully committed to mainstreaming disability inclusion and intersectionality throughout its work, as laid out in the UN Women Strategic Plan 2022–2025. The goal is to ensure a more systematic approach to ensuring the rights of women and girls with disabilities across UN Women’s areas of work.

Disability, gender, and discrimination are closely interlinked, with one in five women experiencing a disability-related exclusion. To address this, UN Women developed a corporate strategy for the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities built on a multi-pronged approach that includes providing normative guidance, integrated policy advice, operational support, and technical assistance for programme and capacity-development. The approach helps ensure that initiatives are both gender-responsive and inclusive of the rights of persons with disabilities.

This brief overviews UN Women’s approach to disability inclusion and intersectionality.

This brief presents data on the legal barriers that women with disabilities face when accessing economic opportunities in 190 economies. The new data suggest that only one-quarter of economies worldwide explicitly protect and promote the rights of women with disabilities.
 

The study presents knowledge on the different forms of violence, its underlying causes, and the ability to access services as well as the experiences of women with disabilities in Egypt, focusing on the intersectionality between gender, disability and poverty.

By focusing on the intersection of gender, age, and disability, this brief seeks to raise awareness regarding the situation of older women with disabilities and provides a set of recommendations for actions that stakeholders might consider and implement.
 

UN Women conducted a research analysis of UN Joint Programmes (JPs) from an overall perspective and with a focus on gender equality and SDG results. The main source of this analysis comes from data included in the Common Country Programming Profile Joint Programme 2019 and collected through the UNSDG Information Management System (IMS).

This document was written in collaboration with UN Women's Disability Inclusion and Intersectionality Portfolio (DIIP) within the context of the Disability-Inclusive COVID-19 Response and Recovery Global Programme in the country, with support from the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD). Considering the intersection of disability, gender and violence from a human rights perspective for a life free of violence for all women

This document was written in collaboration with UN Women's Disability Inclusion and Intersectionality Portfolio (DIIP) within the context of the Disability-Inclusive COVID-19 Response and Recovery Global Programme at the country level, with support from the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD). Leaving no one behind is a shared responsibility of all United Nations System staff in the process of supporting States, especially during the COVID-19

The website of the United Nations Programme on Disability/Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SCRPD)has information and resources related to mainstreaming disability and the rights of persons with disabilities in the development agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);the yearly Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the United Nations Inter-agency Support Group on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (IASG).

The purpose of this study was to develop a variety of texts documenting case studies of good and promising practices in the area of the protection of rights and access to services for women with disabilities in East and Southern Africa (ESA) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present document analyses the current situation of gender and disability data in Georgia, including existing and potential data sources.

This Technical Note aims to guide UNCTs on how to mainstream gender equality considerations into planning and programming work as part of their ongoing COVID-19 response and recovery effort.

A brief overview to summarizing the impact of COVID-19 on the 17 performance indicator areas.

This guideline developed by UN Women, provides a step-by-step guidance note to produce an in-depth picture of the situation, needs and capacities of women, men, boys and girls of diverse backgrounds to inform recommendations and actions that leave no one behind.

The brief discusses the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the ability of women, girls, non-binary, transgender, and gender-non-conforming (TGNC) persons with disabilities in meeting basic need.

The present brief was developed in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and the unique challenges that this creates for women and girls with disabilities. The brief discusses actions that the UN system can implement systematically to address the needs and rights of these women and girls in COVID-19 response and recovery plans.

Enshrined in the principle of "Leave No One Behind," this study report is a synthesis of key findings and recommendations from a multi country mapping of the manifestations and trends in discrimination against women and girls with disabilities in the ESA region.

This assessment focuses on the representation of persons with disabilities in the workforce of Ethiopia with sex and age disaggregation. The study used all available data sources including national surveys and censuses undertaken by CSA and some administrative data. The report visualizes the available data, shows gaps and areas for improvement, and undergoing efforts to enhance disability statistics.