Diverse Voices, Better Debates: Why Women with Disabilities Must Be Seen and Heard
Every year on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities invites us to reflect on who has a voice in shaping Europe’s future. At The Brussels Binder, our mission is clear: policy debates must reflect the diversity of the population they serve. Yet across Europe, many voices remain missing from these conversations — and women with disabilities are among the most absent.
Women with disabilities face some of the most persistent barriers to employment, visibility, and participation in public life. Eurostat’s 2024 data shows a 24-point employment gap between persons with and without disabilities in the EU. When gender is considered, the picture becomes even more stark: only 48% of women with disabilities in Europe are employed. Fewer work full-time, fewer are promoted, and many remain excluded from leadership pathways.
These labour-market barriers matter for more than economic reasons. They shape who becomes recognised as an “expert,” who is invited to speak on panels, and ultimately who influences policymaking. Representation in the workforce is directly connected to representation in public debate.
Yet many of the obstacles women with disabilities face are structural rather than individual:
• workplaces and events that remain physically or digitally inaccessible
• recruitment and selection processes that overlook their expertise
• assumptions that limit their visibility, advancement, or perceived “fit”
• a lack of data, making their experiences statistically invisible
Research consistently shows the benefits of diversity — stronger innovation, better decision-making, and higher organisational performance. The same holds true when women with disabilities participate in policy debates: the conversation becomes more accurate, more relevant, and more reflective of Europe’s realities.
Why this matters for EU policy debates
Panels shape narratives, political priorities, and the public understanding of policy. When women with disabilities are absent from these spaces, Europe misses critical perspectives on accessibility, employment, digitalisation, healthcare, social policy, technology, and human rights.
Ensuring their participation is not only a matter of fairness, it strengthens democratic legitimacy and leads to more robust, more actionable policymaking.
A Call to Action for 3 December
To all event organisers, think tanks, policy institutes, and EU stakeholders:
This 3 December, take a concrete step toward more inclusive and representative debates.
Invite women with disabilities to speak, not only on disability-related topics, but across all policy fields. Their expertise spans economics, security, digital affairs, climate, legal policy, international relations, and much more.
The Brussels Binder database includes experts with diverse profiles, including women with disabilities. Diversity in panels strengthens policy conversations for everyone.
| Where to Start: A Practical Checklist for Organisers 1. Review your speaker selection process. Are your “go-to experts” always the same? Expand your pool to include women with disabilities across sectors. 2. Ensure your events are accessible by default. Provide captioning, accessible venues, microphone access, clear formats, and hybrid options where possible. 3. Use inclusive language in speaker invitations and calls for experts. 4. Benchmark diversity in your panels. Track how often women with disabilities are represented — and in which policy areas. 5. Browse the Brussels Binder database. Identify new profiles, diversify your panels, and reach out early to ensure accessibility needs are met. |
At The Brussels Binder, we work every day to improve gender balance and diversity in EU policy debates. On this 3 December, we encourage all organisers and stakeholders to take one clear step:
Ensure that women with disabilities are not only present, but fully included, in the conversations that shape Europe.
Doing so moves us closer to policy debates that are democratic, representative, and reflective of the full spectrum of European expertise.