Four-fifths of people with disabilities live in developing countries. About 82 per cent live below the poverty line. Photo:ILO/Fiorente A.

Mounting evidence points to the high economic costs of excluding people with disabilities from the world of work. The ILO has recently estimated that the costs of such exclusion can range from 3 to 7 per cent of a country's GDP. Photo:/Fiorente A.

Disabled women often experience double discrimination, due to their gender and to their disability. This makes disabled girls and women less likely to access education, vocational training, rehabilitation programmes and employment compared to non-disabled females and their disabled male counterparts. Photo:/Brown P.

To create a better world for all it is essential that active measures be introduced to include men and women with disabilities in all employment promotion, poverty reduction, and social and economic development initiatives at the country level.
The women shown in the picture are employed at the Hanoi-based company Chula Fashion which specializes in creating one-of-a kind garments. The company employs about 55 workers, of which approximately 80 per cent of whom have a disability. The majority of these employees are hearing-impaired. Photo:/Sanchez J.

Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that persons with disabilities are included in the development process and have access to opportunities for a better life. Photo:/Fiorente A.

Governments need to enshrine the rights and entitlements of disabled citizens through legislation and policy; to provide resources that help to ensure that general services, including health, education and training, are accessible to disabled people. Photo:ILO/Lord R.

Employers are instrumental in promoting work as well as training opportunities for women and men with disabilities. On-the-job training can be an effective way to enable people with disabilities to enter the competitive labour market. Photo:/Brown P.

Both the UN and ILO have made a significant contribution to standards setting in the area of disability and work. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD), together with the ILO Convention concerning the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons (No. 159), as well as the ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace (2001), provide a platform for the inclusion of disabled persons in all aspects of the workplace environment.

Blind man pictured above uses a screen reading software to help carry out his work. Photo:/Fiorente A.

The ability to apply our skills and knowledge is empowering. Experience shows that when persons with disabilities are empowered to participate and lead the process of development, their entire community benefits, as their involvement creates opportunities for all persons, whether or not they have a disability.

Cham Sophal is a member of the Khmer Women's Handicraft Association in Cambodia, which benefits from ILO WEDGE-supported business skills training, business association membership, financial education and credit. Synergies such as these make a great difference in the lives of people with disabilities who are struggling to change their economic condition. Photo:/Sanchez J.

Eleni Meshesha is an award-winning entrepreneur who is Deaf. She produces handcrafted beaded necklaces and bracelets, in addition to a number of other goods using recycled materials. Over the past years, she participated in several skills training and business development initiatives, including the ILO-Women's Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality project (WEDGE). After nine years in business, Eleni has established a network of six suppliers whom she has trained in bead jewelry design; three are disabled. Photo:/Fiorente A.

The ILO's Training for Rural Economic Empowerment (TREE) programme also ensures a disability-responsive approach which enables its practitioners to include disabled people in the programme. Photo:/ILO / Ability Asia