A/70/297 36. Social protection plays an important role for women and men with disabilities of working age, by stabilizing and protecting their income in the event of unemployment, sickness or inactivity, and by ensuring at least a basic level of income security. Effective measures to support persons with disabilities in finding and retaining quality employment are an essential element of non-discriminatory and inclusive policies that help them realize their rights and aspirations as productive members of society. 38 Social protection also contributes to meeting their health care, maternal protection and social participation needs. 37. Persons with disabilities who have not acquired entitlements to a contributory pension during their working lives face considerable difficulties in maintaining an adequate level of income security towards the end of their lives, w hen adequate non-contributory pensions are not available. Moreover, as they are often less likely to have a partner or to marry, 39 intra-family support as an additional source of income security is often insufficient and unreliable. Therefore, social protec tion programmes are necessary to guarantee income security for older persons with disabilities and to provide support services. As disability rates are considerably higher among older persons, there is a growing demand for health and social care and support services to enable them to continue living independently and with dignity. D. Women and girls 38. Women and girls with disabilities face many difficulties in accessing adequate housing, health care, education, vocational training and employment, and are more likely to be institutionalized and experience poverty. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes that women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple forms of discrimination, and provides for their equal and f ull enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It also requires States to ensure that they have equal access to social protection and poverty reduction programmes. 39. Accordingly, States must ensure that social protection programmes address the imbalances of power and the multiple forms of discrimination experienced by women and girls with disabilities. States should take steps to eliminate the barriers that prevent them from accessing social protection programmes and ensure that social protection systems take into account both disability-related and gender-related factors in the design and implementation of such programmes. Non -contributory schemes, in particular, play an important role, as women with disabilities are often excluded from the formal labour market. States should also acknowledge the role of women with disabilities as caregivers, including older women with disabilities, by providing them with appropriate assistance to perform care responsibilities without reinforcing patterns of discrimination and negative stereotyping. 40 __________________ 38 39 40 15-12544 ILO, World Social Protection Report, p. 53. WHO and World Bank, see note 16. M. Sepúlveda and C. Nyst, The Human Rights Approach to Social Protection (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, 2012). 13/25