Africa’s Prosperity Depends on Achieving Gender Equality
Childcare responsibilities significantly impede African women’s ability to realize their full potential, owing to regressive social norms that perpetuate gender disparities. Tackling this challenge requires a holistic, evidence-based shift to a care economy that empowers women to participate as equals in the labor market.
NAIROBI – Despite the progress made toward gender equality over the past century, women worldwide still lag behind men in pay and job quality. The global labor-force participation rate for women is just 53%, compared to 80% for men. This is not due to a lack of will or effort. Childcare obligations, limited access to education, and poor workplace and public-safety measures often curtail women’s ability to secure “decent” work.