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The Generation Equality Forum, a series of global gatherings to celebrate the progress achieved in gender equality, is currently ongoing in Paris. Meanwhile, a new online tool aims to bridge the gap between people and governments on ambitious gender equality action by 2030. The tool helps to forecast progress on gender equality or the lack thereof, across five issues and 129 countries. Rachel Kagoiya, Manager: Women leadership Programme at FEMNET and Aya Chebbi an African Union Youth envoy join CNBC Africa to discuss the progress of gender equality in Africa.

This new online tool aims to bridge the gender gap between people and governments

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UN Women and Standard Bank have partnered up to equip female farmers in Africa with the skills and resources needed to grow their businesses, and succeed over the long term. This project is closely aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals; particularly when it comes to gender equality, access to decent work, and economic growth. Nidhi Tandon, Socio-economic Advisor for the East &#038; Southern Africa Region, UN Women joins CNBC Africa for more.

UN Women

UN Women, Standard Bank collaborate to empower female farmers in Africa

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Kenya’s first Women’s Empowerment Index launched by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics in partnership with UN Women and UNICEF will track the country&#8217;s progress towards achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

Women’s empowerment index launched to drive gender equality in Kenya

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For the 6th consecutive year, the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) joined about 80 exchanges across the world to ring the bell to mark the International Women’s Day 2020. The annual event aims at raising awareness on gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and sustainable development. CNBC Africa’s Tesi Kaven had a conversation with Celestin Rwabukumba, CEO of Rwanda Stock Exchange on the significance of this event.

RSE CEO Rwabukumba on importance of women’s participation in stock markets

By Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Director, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).



The yawning global gender gap is at the heart of our inability to end hunger. Whether last in the family to eat, blocked from owning land, or entirely ignored by extension workers and policymakers, gender inequality &#8211; and specifically discrimination against women &#8211; is a key driver of global hunger.



The cost of
ending global hunger&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globalgiving.org/learn/how-much-would-it-cost-to-end-world-hunger/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has been estimated</a>&nbsp;at anything from $7 billion to $265
billion per year, largely because experts cannot agree on the primary causes or
solutions.&nbsp;



As
academics, activists and policymakers continue to explore the role that climate
change, disease outbreaks, and unstable markets have in exacerbating global
hunger, still too few are connecting the dots between gender inequality and
hunger.



Hunger
itself knows no gender, affecting&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">820
million men, women and children</a>&nbsp;alike worldwide. But circumstances
leading to hunger and malnutrition often arise because gender inequality tends
to disadvantage women as producers and carers and, importantly, as
professionals in fields such as science, technology and innovation.



We cannot
continue neglecting the vital contribution of women in agriculture if we are to
have any hope of improving global food security. This means addressing the
under-appreciated and vital role of women – not just in producing and preparing
food for their families, but also in conducting and leading scientific research
needed to enhance the production and equitable distribution of food to all.



Women
account for&nbsp;<a href="https://farmingfirst.org/women_infographic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more than 40 per cent</a>&nbsp;of the agricultural workforce in
developing countries, often working longer hours and taking on more
labour-intensive tasks, such as weeding and tending to livestock. For example,
weeding a&nbsp;<a href="https://croplife.org/news/an-end-to-weeding-by-hand/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">single hectare of sorghum</a>&nbsp;by hand can take around 324
hours of labour.



Yet while
women bear the burden of drudgery on farms, they do so without access to many
of the same resources as men, facing a yield gap of up to&nbsp;<a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/one.org/pdfs/poverty_is_sexist_report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30 per cent</a>&nbsp;as a result.



By
providing women with the inputs and services that meet their needs, total
agricultural output in developing countries could rise by up to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/3/i2050e/i2050e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four per cent</a>.



To
effectively tackle global hunger, all scientists must have the skills and
commitment to address the needs and priorities of women farmers across
agricultural value chains.



Named after
its inventor, Ethiopia’s&nbsp;<a href="https://ruforum.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/professor-fetien-abay-a-pioneering-plant-and-seed-scientist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fetina</a>&nbsp;variety of barley is an example of what happens
when scientists collaborate with, and respond to the needs of women farmers.



Developed
by Prof. Fetien Abera in consultation with farmers across the Ethiopian
highlands, Fetina barley is easier to de-husk which reduces demands on women’s
labour, allowing them to increase their output and freeing up their time and
energy.



Prof.
Abera’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgQRDlglfG0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">own life story</a>&nbsp;is itself an example of why we must
also address the systemic and systematic inequalities that stop women in
agricultural research from bringing their best innovations to the fore. Since
becoming the first woman plant breeder and lecturer at Mekelle University, she
has overcome tremendous challenges in her rise to the rank of Deputy Vice
Chancellor.



Gender
biases in scientific research mean that not only are the needs of women
producers ignored, women scientists are&nbsp;<a href="https://awardfellowships.org/award-publications/a-decade-of-advancing-inclusive-agricultural-research-the-award-story/5c0a43297ad18doc509149097/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">less likely</a>&nbsp;than men to publish their work in
journals, and when they do publish papers, they are less likely to be the lead
investigator.



The result
is that women’s achievements in science, research and development often slip
through the equality gap. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
reports that only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wipo.int/women-and-ip/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30.5 per cent</a>&nbsp;of patent applications have one woman
inventor.



Across
sub-Saharan Africa, just&nbsp;<a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/afgend/262293.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one in
four</a>&nbsp;agricultural researchers are women, meaning that women are
underrepresented in the leadership roles where priorities are set, decisions
made and resources allocated for research on the continent.



A recent
study found it may take up to&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-says-the-gender-gap-in-science-could-take-generations-to-fix-95150" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">320 years</a>&nbsp;before an equal number of men and women are
working in senior science roles worldwide. We cannot afford to wait this long.



Since 2008,
African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) has invested in
accelerating the careers of the continent’s female scientists such as Prof.
Abera.&nbsp;



In addition
to leadership training, we also unlock the wisdom of an older generation of
scientists through an intensive mentoring program, and support African women
scientists rise to the top of their scientific careers by helping them build
the skills needed to raise resources for their cutting edge research.



Our latest
work, the&nbsp;<a href="https://oneplanetfellowship.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">One
Planet Fellowship</a>,&nbsp;is an innovative
partnership between private philanthropy, the public and private sectors,
supporting the next generation of African and European scientists to embed
gender issues into their research on climate adaptation solutions for African
smallholder farmers.



The theme
of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Realising Women’s Rights”, but the
reality is that women’s rights are human rights.



We are
investing in building a more gender-responsive agricultural research system for
Africa because we cannot tackle hunger without first addressing gender
inequality.

gettyimages-130874533-170667a

Op-Ed: Ending global hunger requires tackling gender inequality

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Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, the Nigerian Stock Exchange is putting the spotlight on gender equality through a symposium themed “Each for Equal”. Tinuade Awe, Executive Director for Regulation at the NSE joins CNBC Africa Christy Cole for more.

NSE’s Tinuade Awe highlights benefits of gender diversity

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By Angelique Kidjo



In African cultures, women play a nurturing role, they are the backbone of the continent. Yet, they face a $42 billion-dollar financing gap with over 3/4 of them being financially excluded.



This means that when it comes to lending money,
women are systematically seen as high-risk by financial institutions. In
Africa, viable guarantees often come in the form of land and properties, both
of which are rarely accessible to women. Land is, indeed, the most critical
economic resource for the vast majority of the population in rural areas who
depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Yet, throughout many African
countries, women have less access, control, and ownership of this key assets
and their land rights are less secure. This often limits women&#8217;s economic
opportunities and leaves them more vulnerable to poverty.



As a result of this systemic discrimination
against women, access to financial services disproportionately favours men. For
instance, in Africa men have 50% more global wealth than women and run more
than 86% of businesses. Local barriers are also erected in front of African
women: most of them at the continental level operate in informal sectors or
very rural areas with limited banking facilities, making easy access to finance
almost unheard of. This is a market failure that must be addressed to ensure
equal access to banking and ultimately equal rights.



The capital lost because of the financial
exclusion of women is deeply affecting our economy and most importantly, deeply
impacting our societies. When you are struggling to make ends meet, to put a
meal on the table, to raise your kids, why wouldn’t you try to go to Europe,
despite the risks and the thousands of lives lost at sea?



The AFAWA initiative is a direct response to
the challenges faced by women in Africa, and the need to unlock access to
finance. It is a major step in the right direction for women all over Africa,
but it is certainly not the end of the battle. AFAWA’s primary end
beneficiaries are African women’s enterprises across the continent, often
neglected by the traditional banking system. A more equal – and gender equal –
Africa is not just a political ideal. It will have a ripple effect on Africa’s
development and human capital. It will lay the foundations for a resilient,
prosperous and forward-looking Africa.



The goal here is to work towards eliminating
these structural and cultural barriers, creating wealth, generating growth, and
supporting female entrepreuneurship. It is surely the first of many steps
towards women’s empowerment, which will ultimately lead to economic growth
across the entire continent. But banks and governments need to act, and act
now, for women to be empowered, for these inequalities to be resolved, and for
the economy to grow.



Women in Africa are the heartbeat of the
continent, they are the agents of long lasting change. If we want to invest in
the future, we need to empower women by investing in them. 



Of course, we know that the AFAWA initiative
alone will not by itself tear down the many hurdles inhibiting women’s
abilities and opportunities. However, I believe that this initiative can
significantly shape the future of Africa.

AFAWA_AfDB

Op-Ed: How the AFAWA initiative is empowering women to propel Africa forward

Kigali, Rwanda, 25 November 2019 – African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina has called for greater access to finance for African women when he addressed the inaugural session of the Global Gender Summit.



&#8220;When women borrow, they
always repay. And 90% of them repay their loans without the least problem. So,
where is the risk? The problem is prejudice and the banks&#8217; lack of flexibility.
We must leave this behind to allow women access to financing,&#8221; President
Adesina urged.



The session headed &#8220;Unlocking women&#8217;s access
to finance in Africa&#8221; had a panel of high-level speakers,
including Salimata Diop Dieng, the Senegalese Minister of Women, Family and
Gender; Andrew Temu, President of the African Guarantee Fund; Kennedy Uzoka,
President and CEO of United Bank of Africa (UBA); Joséphine Anan-Ankomah, CEO
of Ecobank Group; and Christine Ngiriye, an entrepreneur.



Salimata Diop Deng said,
&#8220;It is important that financial institutions support initiatives from
women. They have the market gardens and produce to process. They create
start-ups in innovative areas. But they lack resources and collateral, and the
procedures for accessing loans are complicated. These women have relatively
moderate finance needs, just enough to create projects and jobs. They need
support from the private sector and the banks to help them weave their way into
the economy.&#8221;



Andrew Temu advocated
&#8220;holding discussions with countries to improve the business environment.
What is especially needed is legislation that reassures the banks. There are a
number of actors, banks, investors, entrepreneurs and clients operating within
the economic market. Everyone needs to be in communication to address the
risks.&#8221;



For Anan-Ankomah, ECOBANK is
already making big strides to gender parity. The pan-African bank has signed up
to the African Union gender parity principle of 50/50. “Currently we are at 46%
and out of that, 30% of those women are in senior management positions,” she
said.



Ngiriye said that she had seen
little change in nearly 30 years: &#8220;The problem that comes up again and
again is that of collateral.”



According to Adesina the
financial sector had a responsibility to the women of Africa. And he made an
announcement: &#8220;From now on, we shall be grading every African financial
institution for how well it helps women. Every financial ecosystem must evolve
to support women. And we are going to put pressure on the guarantee
banks.&#8221;



The African Development Bank and the government of Rwanda are hosting the Global Gender Summit from 25 to 27 November in Kigali. The Summit is being organised by the Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) Working Group on gender for the first time in Africa.



Content provided by African Development Bank

gettyimages-870006586-594×594 (1)

Global Gender Summit 2019: “Put prejudice behind us and give women access to finance” says Akinwumi Adesina

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CNBC Africa spoke with Anne-Marie Levesque, gender equality Advisor at FinDev Canada about their work with encouraging and implementing female entrepreneurship in East Africa.

Global Gender Summit: Anne-Marie Levesque on encouraging female entrepreneurship

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It is important to unpack the constraints to gender equality and put them at the door step of the right people. That&#8217;s according to Modupe Ladipo, Managing Partner of Prosperar Consulting. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Kenneth Igbomor caught up with her on the sidelines of the Global Gender Summit to discuss ways to overcome some constraints to gender equality.

Global Gender Summit: The importance of gender equality in the workplace

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Can real gender equality ever come about without more women in decision making positions? On the side-lines of the 2019 Global Gender Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, CNBC Africa spoke to ONE Africa Ambassadors, Dr. Joannie Marlene Bewa and Merlene Rossouw for their take.

Global Gender Summit: How to bridge gender inequality in leadership positions

“What a man can do, a woman can do just as well,” Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of Rwanda



“History will judge us if we don’t work together to take action now,” Chief Executive Officer of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu



Kigali, Rwanda, 26 November, 2019 – “Investments in gender equality are critical to realizing demographic dividend, but we need to ensure that women have the tools to overcome the barriers they face,” First Lady of Rwanda, Jeannette Kagame told participants at a panel at the Global Gender Summit in Kigali on Monday.



The panel, made up of First Ladies Kagame, Margaret Kenyatta, ministers and development experts, observed that too many women and girls still face barriers to basic rights, particularly access to labour market opportunities.



Rwanda’s First Lady recalled the role women played following the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, where a number of families were wiped out, with women in many cases being the ones catering for families.



“What a man can do, a woman can do just as well,” she added.



She described the Summit as an important platform to highlight issues of women equality. 



Rwanda has implemented gender several inclusive programs, which has enhanced economic equality in a country where women political participation has grown to 61% percent.



First Lady Kenyatta called for the removal of institutional barriers to accelerate women’s economic empowerment, “It has become urgent for Africa to translate its demographic dividend into viable potential.” 



“This is the spirit of Africa’s vision to accelerate its path to sustainable socio-economic development. Our collective commitment to ‘leave no one behind’ is a new chapter in our struggle towards achieving gender equality.”



The panel heard that impediments to gender equality include lack of access to credit, low representation in decision making positions, lack of control over productive land and lack of financial control to make spending decisions on education and health.



Minister of Solidarity, Social Development, Equality and Family Jamila El Moussali of Morocco, shared experiences from Morocco where policies have been introduced to increase women&#8217;s political and economic participation.



The Chief Executive Officer of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, called on stakeholders to come together to leverage each other’s strengths “translate women dreams into reality. History will judge us if we don’t work together to take action now.”



The African Development Bank and the government of Rwanda are hosting the Global Gender Summit from 25 to 27 November in Kigali. The Summit is being organised by the Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) Working Group on gender for the first time in Africa.



Content provided by the African Development Bank

VW_GlobalGenderSummit_2019

First ladies’ panel seeks urgent policies to translate Africa’s demographic dividend into viable potential

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Filling the $42 million finance gap is key in ensuring gender equality is achieved globally – CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Kwizera spoke to CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu for more.

Global Gender Summit: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu on how govts

Global Gender Summit: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu on how govts, businesses can improve women’s access to finance

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By Mariam Yinusa and Edward Mabaya, Principal Economist and Manager, respectively, in the Agribusiness Development Division of the African Development Bank.



Monica Musonda, CEO of Zambian food processing company <a href="https://java-foods.com/">Java Foods</a>, certainly faced hurdles in her rise
to the top, but she overcame them. 



“Although the barriers to entry for
women can be frustrating, they are often basic and relatively easy to resolve,”
she said, playing down her struggles. “My
climb up the agribusiness ladder has been challenging but definitely
worthwhile.” 



Musonda, whose company produces
affordable and nutritious food snacks made from local ingredients, is one of just
a handful of female agripreneurs who have <a href="http://www.lionessesofafrica.com/blog/2017/5/14/monica-musonda-founder-of-java-foods-zambia-wins-the-african-agribusiness-entrepreneur-of-the-year-award-2017">successfully broken through the
proverbial glass ceiling in Africa’s agribusiness</a> industry. 



Women are
the backbone of Africa’s agricultural sector. From farm to fork, African women
are players along the entire agricultural value chain, be it as farmers,
livestock breeders, processors, traders, workers, entrepreneurs or consumers. While
their influence on the continent’s growing agribusiness industry is undeniable,
more solutions are needed to address the gender-specific challenges they face to
boost their participation. 



The average
African woman is a budding entrepreneur either by choice or by circumstance.
According to the &nbsp;<a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/gem-20162017-womens-entrepreneurship-report">Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor Women’s Report 2016/17</a>,
the continent has the highest percentage of female entrepreneurs in the world,
with one in four women starting or managing a business. The agribusiness
industry is often the natural focus of this entrepreneurial drive. 



Across the
continent, women dominate as primary processors post-harvest, as traders with
bustling market stalls, as owners of fast food restaurants and with
increasingly frequency as manufacturers of packaged ready-to-eat food products.
Yet despite this dynamism, female-led agribusinesses tend to remain small,
fragmented and informal in nature. They struggle to sustain and scale-up their
agribusinesses into well-organized profitable enterprises.



Admittedly,
the challenging business environment in many African countries including poor
infrastructure and unreliable legal and regulatory systems affects all business
activities of both men and women. However, in addition women-led businesses must
also grapple with a number of gender-specific constraints, inhibiting their
expansion into more lucrative market segments.



Firstly, African women often lack the
technical know-how. &nbsp;Despite the gains in
female education on the continent, highly productive agribusinesses require
specialized vocational and technical skills in fields such as food safety, food
conservation, packaging and product certification which many African women do
not readily possess.



Access to
finance is the most frequently cited obstacle by African SMEs. Women
entrepreneurs face multiple difficulties in securing funding mainly due to lack
of collateral in the form of land and other tangible assets and a high-risk
perception. According to the African Development Bank, an estimated $42 billion
financing gap exists for African women across business value chains, including
$15.6 billion in agriculture alone. Women are forced to rely on personal
savings and family loans which are rarely enough to fund their businesses to
scale.



Thirdly, socio-cultural barriers and
stereotypes persist. African women remain the primary caregivers in families
meaning that managing those responsibilities while growing a thriving business
can become a difficult balancing act.



Over the last two decades, many
governments and development institutions have rolled out programs to promote
access to finance, agricultural inputs and provide technical support and
business training to female agripreneurs. The African Development Bank recently
set up the <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/afawa-affirmative-finance-action-for-women-in-africa">Affirmative Finance Action for Women
in Africa (AFAWA)</a>, a bold pan-African initiative to bridge the financing gap
facing women. It adopts a three-pronged approach centered on improving access
to finance, providing technical assistance and strengthening the enabling
environment.



It often
takes very little to make a difference. The capital injection required by the
majority of female led SME agribusinesses on the continent is typically less
than $50,000. And women have consistently proven to be more credit-worthy than
men, usually paying back loans within agreed timeframes. Successful solutions
by women for women such as microfinance and saving groups, peer-to-peer
training and information sharing should also be reinforced and taken to scale.



More of such initiatives are urgently
needed across the continent. Solutions must be based on in-depth engagement
with the women business owners themselves to properly understand their
frustrations and needs. Tailored programs designed to specifically address
these pain points are critical. The <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/events/global-gender-summit-global-gender-summit">Global Gender Summit</a> is a timely opportunity to
drive this forward.



Women are central for Africa’s agricultural transformation to be successful, sustainable and inclusive. More African female agripreneurs must be supported to grow and progressively transition into the business segments of agricultural value chains which are most profitable. It has been proven time and time again that when African women thrive the entire society shares in those dividends.

Java Foods

Op-Ed: Getting women in the driver’s seat of Africa’s agribusiness revolution

By Vanessa Moungar, Director of Gender, Women and Civil Society 



If you are a gender champion,
then you are familiar with the discussions around the glass cliff.&nbsp; The story of women eager to defy the odds, accepting leadership roles at times of crisis, when
the chance of failure is the highest. The truth is that many bold glass
cliff climbers have succeeded without falling off. 



Two of such champions come to my
mind: the former Xerox CEO Anne
Mulcah and Tokunboh Ishmael, co-founder of
Aliethiea IDF.



Mulcah, Ishmael and likeminded
agents of change have already shattered the status quo. So, when the first
Global Gender Summit held in Africa kicks off on November 25th in
Kigali, Rwanda, the international community will hurtle towards heeding the
calls to dismantle barriers to women’s full participation and advancement
economic development on the continent. 



Women make up over 40%
of African business owners yet only 2% are able to access finance according to
a Mckinsey report. One in four women globally who start in a business come from
Africa (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor).



The Summit, organised by the
Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) Working Group on gender, will be held in
Africa for the first time ever, from the 25th to 27th
November 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda. This year’s summit is hosted by the African
Development Bank in partnership with the Government of Rwanda and supported by
other multilateral development banks as key partners. 



Under the theme “Unpacking
constraints to gender equality,” the Global Gender Summit will share best
practices and seek innovative solutions that can be harnessed to empower women
and girls in Africa and around the world.



We are excited to be bringing the
world to Rwanda, a country that has set a strong example when it comes to
promoting women’s rights and representation. 



Rwanda&nbsp;was the
first country in the world with a&nbsp;female&nbsp;majority
in&nbsp;parliament, currently at
67.5 %, following October parliamentary polls. Out of a total parliamentary
membership of 80, women occupy 54 seats. This feat puts the nation ahead of
even the most developed nations. 



From the massive financing gap
for women-led enterprises, inadequate data, laws and cultural norms that
negatively affect women, to a lack of representation in business and politics,
the challenges are great.



But the opportunities are there
too.



Discussions will focus on the
main barriers to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, namely:
scaling up innovative financing, fostering an enabling environment and ensuring
women’s participation and voices. Sectors to be addressed will include climate
change, the digital revolution, private sector and human capital and productive
employment.



In Africa, women-led enterprises
face a whopping $42 billion financing gap. One of the Bank’s flagship gender-focused projects is its Affirmative
Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), which seeks to accelerate growth
and employment creation across African economies, by closing the financing gap
for women. 



Over the next 5 years, AFAWA is
expected to unlock $3 billion in private sector financing to empower female
entrepreneurs through capacity-building development, access to finance as well
as policy, legal and regulatory reforms to support enterprises led by women.



Our Fashionomics Africa
initiative supports the African textiles and fashion industries by building the
capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises in the textile and clothing
sector, especially those run by women and youth. By using technology as a driver for the development of skills and
capacity in Africa’s creative industries, the African Development Bank aims to
stimulate job creation on the continent. At the summit, we will unveil an
innovative online marketplace for designers across the continent.



That’s just some of the exciting
news. We will use the opportunity of the Global Gender Summit to launch a
number of initiatives to dramatically transform the landscape of access to finance for women
across the continent.



These include the
Africa Gender Index- a joint African Development Bank and the United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) report that assesses African countries on
gender equality.



The launch of the AFAWA/AGF Risk Sharing Facility, which will de-risk lending to women through AGF’s partial, guarantees to financial institutions and its capacity development to women entrepreneurs. As well as these continent-wide initiatives, we at the African Development Bank understand that change begins at home. That is why in 2018, the Bank rolled out its gender marker system to process, monitor, and promote gender mainstreaming in all its operations, with gender specialists as part of project teams and Bank operations.



By the end of last year, 40% of
public sector Bank operations had been organised under the gender marker
system, a major shift in the Bank’s way of doing business and commitment to
gender mainstreaming. 



We continue to
support and build the individual power of girls and women across the countries
we work in and never has the time been more urgent.



We expect the Global Gender Summit, to
be a milestone event in the empowerment of women in Africa and beyond. &nbsp;See you there.



* This year’s Global Gender Summit, is hosted by the African Development Bank in partnership with the Government of Rwanda and supported by other multilateral development banks as key partners.

Op-Ed: Gender equality: It’s time for disruption, time to shatter the status quo. We can’t afford to wait!

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The United Nations says eliminating violence against women and girls is key to achieving gender equality and women empowerment – it is also vital to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). As the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child, explore solutions to issues affecting the Nigerian girl-child, Founder of Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), Kemi Dasilva-Ibru joins CNBC Africa.

WARIF Founder Kemi Dasilva-Ibru on tackling gender-based violence in Nigeria

<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Olga-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-344123" width="275" height="412"/></figure></div>



By Olga Arara-Kimani, Regional Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand &amp; Marketing for Standard Chartered in Africa and the Middle East



In recent years there has been significant improvements
towards empowering women in Africa and the Middle East (AME). Despite these
steps towards inclusion, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global
Gender Gap index<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>,
it will take more than 150 years to close the gender gap between men and women
in Africa and the Middle East. The effect of gender divide means women often
face barriers and end up in insecure, low-wage jobs, and constitute a small
minority of those in senior positions.



The divide hasn’t gone unnoticed. Regional
governments are increasingly moving ahead with progressive policies and
legislation, whilst Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been instrumental
in providing women with new skills and spurring attitudinal change. A solid
foundation has been laid for women to maximise their potential, however
government legislation and NGOs will not suffice if we are to truly level the
playing field. For this to occur, the private sector must be engaged as a key
partner to deliver on female equity. 



To begin with the public sector, governments across the region have moved to increase female participation in the workplace in recent years.  In the UAE, the government recently passed a resolution to increase women&#8217;s representation in the Federal National Council (FNC) to 50 percent<a href="#_ftn2">[2]</a>, whilst South Africa President, Cyril Ramaphosa has just announced that government plans and budgets will have to include gender-specific delivery targets.  Governments across the region have also been instrumental in introducing legislation to encourage women both in, and into, the workplace. For instance, Lebanon has increased paid maternity leave from 49 to 70 days. Progressive policies are not only helping women enter and stay in the workforce, but in the long-term will have a positive impact on the region’s GDP. In the GCC alone, some estimates tout a 50 percent boost to economic output if women participate in the workforce to the same extent as men. International organisations have also contributed to significant advances in female economic empowerment across Africa and the Middle East, with a significant impact on attitudes towards equality. The United Nations (UN) has led this charge, with gender equality high up on its agenda as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the Middle East, UN Women awarded 200 youth volunteers at HeForShe for reaching 20,000 commitments on women’s empowerment<a href="#_ftn3">[3]</a>, and in Africa, the organisation aims to empower up to two million women through various initiatives aimed at increasing income, wealth and business leadership skills. Beyond the UN, a large number of international organisations have also been instrumental in empowering women across the AME region. Oxfam, for example, has launched a global campaign called Raising Her Voice (RHV) which aims to promote women’s rights. This included a budget in Pakistan of over US$500,000
between the years of 2008-2013<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>.
In South Africa, the RHV campaign received roughly US$50,000 annually for
training and workshops that involved feminism and advocacy skills<a href="#_ftn2">[2]</a>.



Local NGO initiatives have also been key in
the advancement of female inclusion throughout the AME region. As an example, five
Lebanese NGOs and the Lebanese League for Women in Business (LLWB) teamed up in
2016 to form Girls Got IT, an NGO to provide female students with access to hands-on
tech workshops, talks by industry leaders and tutorials on digital innovation. To
take but one of many examples from Africa, a Tanzanian NGO called ‘Village
Enterprise’ works on ending extreme poverty by helping women in rural areas
through entrepreneurship and innovation. The group has been working successfully
and achieved a milestone of one million lives transformed in May 2019<a href="#_ftn3">[3]</a>. 



It’s clear that governments and civil society have done much to integrate women into AME economies, positively affecting millions of lives along the way. Nevertheless, much remains to be done. Female labour force participation rates vary widely among African states, with South Africa at 49 percent<a href="#_ftn4">[4]</a> and Tanzania at 80 percent<a href="#_ftn5">[5]</a>. On the other hand, in the GCC, women comprise just 19.2 percent of the workforce according to one study<a href="#_ftn6">[6]</a>. In this context, the private sector, with all of its economic might, constitutes perhaps the most crucial element in addressing the balance. A recent study by Deloitte showed that Africa’s private sector represents 75 percent of generated wealth and 90 percent of all employment opportunities in the continent<a href="#_ftn7">[7]</a>. Fortunately, there are encouraging signs that companies are stepping up across AME and pursuing a concerted effort to empower women with new skills and opportunities. Standard Chartered stands as a case in point. The Bank has committed to raise USD50 million, between 2019 and 2023 through fundraising and Bank-matching, to empower the next generation to learn, earn and grow via its Futuremakers programme. By no means is Standard Chartered satisfied to merely provide financial donations – it also actively implements women’s empowerment programmes such as Women in Tech, aimed at promoting the economic and social development of women entrepreneurs. To date, this programme operates in five countries with entrepreneurial female participants from Pakistan, Nigeria, the US, the UAE and my home country, Kenya. The Bank is also committed to creating a more inclusive environment to help working parents balance work and family responsibilities; its staff can enjoy the benefit of flexible working policy, a parental paid leave of up to 140 calendar days for the mother and two weeks for the spouse.



Achieving gender equality is an important moral principle and acts as a catalyst to other development outcomes such as poverty reduction, well-being and health<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>. Governments and NGO’s have been active in empowering women; however, change will take a collective partnership between government, NGO’s and private enterprise across the region to elevate women to an equal status. The outcome of maximising women’s potential and achieving gender equality will result in greater contributions being made and benefits to the entire region.

gender equality

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UN Women, Standard Bank collaborate to empower female farmers in Africa

Women’s empowerment index launched to drive gender equality in Kenya

RSE CEO Rwabukumba on importance of women’s participation in stock markets

Op-Ed: Ending global hunger requires tackling gender inequality

NSE’s Tinuade Awe highlights benefits of gender diversity

Op-Ed: How the AFAWA initiative is empowering women to propel Africa forward

Global Gender Summit 2019: “Put prejudice behind us and give women access to finance” says Akinwumi Adesina

Global Gender Summit: Anne-Marie Levesque on encouraging female entrepreneurship

Global Gender Summit: The importance of gender equality in the workplace

Global Gender Summit: How to bridge gender inequality in leadership positions

First ladies’ panel seeks urgent policies to translate Africa’s demographic dividend into viable potential

Global Gender Summit: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu on how govts, businesses can improve women’s access to finance

Op-Ed: Getting women in the driver’s seat of Africa’s agribusiness revolution

Op-Ed: Gender equality: It’s time for disruption, time to shatter the status quo. We can’t afford to wait!

WARIF Founder Kemi Dasilva-Ibru on tackling gender-based violence in Nigeria

Op-Ed: What are the steps needed to challenge the gender divide ?

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gender equality

This new online tool aims to bridge the gender gap between people and governments

UN Women, Standard Bank collaborate to empower female farmers in Africa

Women’s empowerment index launched to drive gender equality in Kenya

RSE CEO Rwabukumba on importance of women’s participation in stock markets

Op-Ed: Ending global hunger requires tackling gender inequality

NSE’s Tinuade Awe highlights benefits of gender diversity

Op-Ed: How the AFAWA initiative is empowering women to propel Africa forward

Global Gender Summit 2019: “Put prejudice behind us and give women access to finance” says Akinwumi Adesina

Global Gender Summit: Anne-Marie Levesque on encouraging female entrepreneurship

Global Gender Summit: The importance of gender equality in the workplace

Global Gender Summit: How to bridge gender inequality in leadership positions

First ladies’ panel seeks urgent policies to translate Africa’s demographic dividend into viable potential

Global Gender Summit: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu on how govts, businesses can improve women’s access to finance

Op-Ed: Getting women in the driver’s seat of Africa’s agribusiness revolution

Op-Ed: Gender equality: It’s time for disruption, time to shatter the status quo. We can’t afford to wait!

WARIF Founder Kemi Dasilva-Ibru on tackling gender-based violence in Nigeria

Op-Ed: What are the steps needed to challenge the gender divide ?

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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