Women* with disabilities as mentors for economic self-determination – strategies for reducing mental load

About the Project

This participatory project implements an innovative mentoring and dialogue concept together with women* with disabilities across Austria.

Research Topic & Roadmap

At its core, the project focuses on sharing experiences, identifying barriers, and recognising the resources of women* with disabilities. The implementation takes place in two phases:

(1) Regional dialogue formats in Vienna, Linz, Innsbruck and two online sessions provide safe spaces within the community of women* with disabilities. They enable the exchange of experiences, mutual learning, and the articulation of individual and collective strategies for action.

(2) A nationwide dialogue event in Vienna brings together women* with disabilities and key stakeholders from women’s counselling services, disability support organisations, the labour market, public administration, and politics. The aim is to share insights from the regional formats, open new perspectives, and identify opportunities for structural improvement.

All formats are designed to be fully accessible and inclusive of women* with different disabilities. The knowledge generated through the project is made available in an accessible online gallery on the FmB website (www.fmb-frauenmitbehinderungen.at) – for women* with disabilities, their advocacy organisations, and for institutions, organisations, and companies working at the intersection of inclusion, employment, and disability.

Project Goals

The project pursues the following goals:

  • Making visible the economic barriers, dependencies, and everyday challenges faced by women* with disabilities.
  • Strengthening solidarity and mutual learning on equal terms to increase agency and foster empowerment.
  • Reducing mental load through peer exchange, support, and structural awareness-raising.
  • Enabling a shift in perspectives: away from deficit-oriented approaches towards recognising the rights, expertise, and lived experiences of women* with disabilities.
  • Challenging ableist attitudes by raising awareness of structural inequalities and questioning discriminatory norms.
  • Initiating structural improvements by ensuring that insights from the dialogue formats are acknowledged within organisations, institutions, and policy processes.

Research Methods

The project’s methodology is grounded in a dialogic, peer-led approach that places the experiential knowledge of women* with disabilities at the centre.

Key methodological principles include:

  • Participation at every level: A Peer Advisory Board supports the project and ensures that formats, content, and guiding questions respond to the perspectives, needs and concerns of women* with diverse disabilities.
  • Dialogue-based approach: The dialogue formats follow clear, structured facilitation processes that enable safe, equitable exchange and make individual and collective knowledge visible.
  • Community-based peer learning: In the regional formats, experiences within the community of women* with disabilities are shared, reflected upon, and further developed. This strengthens solidarity, mutual support, and the collective development of strategies for navigating and reducing barriers.
  • Transfer to systemic knowledge: Insights from the regional peer processes are synthesised and discussed with institutions and decision-makers at the nationwide event to highlight structural barriers and generate impulses for change. In addition, results are documented in an accessible online gallery to ensure long-term availability and sustainable knowledge sharing.
  • Accessibility as a foundational principle: All materials, communication channels, and event formats are fully accessible and create safe environments for empowerment, reflection, and mutual support.

Project Outputs

The results of the dialogue formats are prepared in accessible formats and published on the FmB website (www.fmb-frauenmitbehinderungen.at):

  • Photo gallery showcasing examples from the dialogue formats.
  • Audio clips capturing experiential knowledge and reflections from women* with disabilities.
  • Strategies for action as an accessible PDF and complementary webinar.
  • Guideline for the mentoring and dialogue concept as an accessible PDF together with a webinar.
  • Service portal with links to support services, contact points, and resources at the intersection of inclusion, employment, and disability.
Further Information and News about the Project
Women* with disabilities: Economic self-determination and mental load Contribution to the International Day of Persons with Disabilities Constitutive meeting of the peer expert advisory board

Project Data