Ms Gillian Kearns:

It is grand. Dr. Hassett has covered the issue, but I will just give the perspective of some of the people affected. As Dr. Hassett mentioned, we recently did an event looking specifically at disabled women and poverty. This was obviously a topic that came up and one we talked about it. At that meeting, people said that gender is fundamental in how they are experiencing inequality in employment and in other ways. One person said that she cannot work due to discrimination, not just because of her disability. It is part of the intersectional marginalisation. There was no divide. As Dr. Hassett said, having to choose between caring responsibilities and employment responsibilities is difficult for all parents but it is particularly difficult because disabled women, or women generally, tend to be the primary caregivers in a lot of situations. That gendered aspect really does impact on the way we experience discrimination in employment in a significant way. The figures speak for themselves. There is a reason the figures are lower. It is not just because disabled women are less capable of work. It is because of all these factors.