Gender and disability are two key issues that for a long period, have been promoted separately by disability and feminist advocates. However, women with disabilities face discrimination based on being women, and also their disability. How do we ensure that all EDF’s disability rights work fully includes women, and advances their rights?
This guidance can be used as a mean to support the mainstreaming of the rights of women and girls with disabilities in all EDF’s work. In combination with training, and support/collaboration with other organisations and our Women’s Committee, it will build our capacity to combat the intersectional discrimination faced by women and girls with disabilities in all their diversity.
The first guidance for EDF was developed and adopted in 2015.
In 2024, EDF has nearly thirty staff members, works with a range of consultants, and has more than forty experts and nominees in different advisory committees, and more than one hundred member organisations. The content of the current toolkit can easily be used by all of them to ensure gender mainstreaming in various activities and decisions.The EDF Women’s Committee and EDF staff were consulted in the update of the toolkit. A survey was sent to EDF staff to assess their current knowledge on gender-mainstreaming and support their needs to increase the visibility of women with disabilities.
The document is divided into two main parts. The first part illustrates gender mainstreaming in different work areas by raising a set of key questions on gender inclusivity. The second part is focused on the main subject areas of EDF’s work. For each topic, it illustrates the main challenges and existing gaps related to the situation of women and girls with disabilities.