Designing for Disability: Disability & Gender
Part 1 of a 4-part series exploring overlooked aspects of disability in design.
When designers think about disability, the same personas usually come up: a blind screen reader user or someone in a wheelchair. These images are familiar, but they leave out the diversity of real disabled lives. One of the most overlooked factors is gender.
A blind woman sits on a wooden park bench holding a white cane in one hand and the leash of her guide dog in the other. She wears sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and a long coat. The guide dog sits calmly at her side, looking alert.
Women make up a larger share of the disabled population. This is partly due to longer life expectancy and the increased likelihood of acquiring a disability with age. But there are other forces at play too — most notably the gender healthcare gap, where women’s symptoms are dismissed or underdiagnosed.
Studies across Europe show the pattern clearly. A German study commissioned by the BMAS (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales) and Austrian research from the BMFWF (Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung) both point to the higher rates of disability among women, and to the barriers they face in health, work, and family life. And this isn’t just a European issue. In countries like Kenya and the UK, disabled women encounter similar gaps in healthcare and support, though the data is less consistently collected and shared.
Being female (or perceived as female) and disabled comes with a unique set of challenges.
Violence and Safety
The risk of violence is significantly higher for disabled women.
In France, disabled women face more violence than non-disabled women: 7.3% compared with 5.1% (Observatoire des Inégalités, 2022). Nearly 1 in 5 disabled women (16%) report having been raped, compared with 9% of women overall (FOP x LADAPT, 2022).
Income makes the gap worse. 31% of poorer disabled women report domestic violence, compared with 6% of wealthier ones (FOP x LADAPT, 2022).
Among autistic women, the statistics are especially stark. Nearly 90% report having experienced sexual violence in their lifetime (Association Francophone de Femmes Autistes, 2019).
These figures underline that accessibility is not only about ramps, signage, or digital compliance. Safety and dignity must also be understood as design issues.
Parenting and Social Stigma
Disabled women who want to raise children often face scrutiny that non-disabled parents never encounter. They are sometimes asked outright if they are even “fit” to parent.
Writer Jessica Slice, in her blog and book Unfit Parent, describes the impossible expectations placed on disabled mothers. Her work shows how stigma is deeply embedded in systems meant to support families.
Mobility Patterns
Mobility data also reveals important differences. Men are more likely to make direct point-to-point trips, while women’s travel often involves multiple stops — combining childcare, shopping, work, and caregiving.
For disabled women, these trips come with additional barriers. It might mean waiting for the next accessible bus, detouring to find a station with a working lift, or re-planning a journey because a route is blocked. For wheelchair users in particular, a “short trip” can easily turn into a long detour.
The Better Mobility trend report shows how deeply these factors affect independence and participation in public life.
Why This Matters for Design
When the “default” disability persona is imagined as male and fitting a narrow stereotype, we lose sight of how gender shapes access. Designing for disability means paying attention to these intersections.
Accessibility isn’t just about compliance. It’s about recognising that gender, identity, and disability overlap in ways that affect everyday lives.
Let’s Keep Building the Picture
This post is part of a series exploring overlooked aspects of disability in design.
Do you know of studies or reports from your own country on the experiences of disabled women? We’d love to hear from you. Share them with us so we can help broaden the conversation.
