To promote inclusion and gender equality in lifelong learning, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) conducts action-oriented research and policy advocacy that reaches out to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of young people and adults. People with low literacy skills often come from vulnerable backgrounds. A wide range of factors, such as gender inequality, physical or mental disability, and low socio-economic status, contributes to this vulnerability. Other issues, which vary according to the context (e.g. rural, urban, post-conflict or post-disaster), may exacerbate the challenges these people face.