On International Women’s Day, the EDF Women’s Committee calls on political leaders to take urgent action to break gender stereotypes faced by women and girls with disabilities and ensure their full participation, visibility, and leadership in all areas of life, in line with the third EDF Manifesto on the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities.
Women and girls with disabilities represent nearly one-third of women in the European Union, and around 60% of the 100 million persons with disabilities in Europe. Yet, harmful stereotypes continue to portray them as dependent, incapable of making decisions, and unfit for leadership.
On this International Women’s Day, women and girls with disabilities call on the European Union and governments across Europe to:
- Actively challenge and eliminate gender stereotypes, including those denying the leadership, autonomy and decision-making capacity, through targeted policy, campaigns and trainings.
- Ensure full participation and leadership as voters, candidates, elected representatives and decision-makers at European, national and local levels, with guaranteed accessibility and reasonable accommodation measures.
- End gender-based violence and harmful practices, including forced sterilisation and institutionalisation, and ensure effective and ambitious transposition of the EU Directive on combating violence against women.
- Strengthen visibility and representation of women and girls with disabilities, in all their diversity, across EU policies and programmes.
- Promote economic independence, including equal access to the open labour market, equal pay, and targeted measures to reduce poverty.
- Invest in empowerment and leadership, including through funding of organisations of women with disabilities and initiatives led by and for women and girls with disabilities.
We reaffirm our commitment to working with EU institutions, governments and other civil society organisations to ensure that women and girls with disabilities are recognised as leaders and decision-makers shaping Europe’s future.