Developing Africa’s Youth Skills for Economic Transformation

Emezat Mengesha, Head of ACET’s Gender Equality program, talks about the increasingly important role of women in the African economy, the need for governments to ensure a strong gender lens when crafting development policies, and how the forthcoming African Transformation Report aims to put a new focus on the link between gender equality and economic transformation.

How is ACET tackling the challenge of addressing gender equality and economic transformation at the same time?

Emezat Mengesha: We are working on these issues at a time of increasing recognition on the importance of women and their role in the functioning of the economy. We are seeing more convergence among actors and decision-makers in some important areas, such as acknowledging that differences in capabilities and outcomes among women and men are the result of societal norms and values reinforced by formal laws and policies rather than inherent or natural distinctions; and that smart policies can positively influence these norms to improve outcomes for women. This recognition sends the important message that women are not condemned to live in a state of gender inequality but can take action to change the status quo. And change benefits all. This is true in Africa as it is around the world.

ACET’s starting point of analysis and the context within which we are investigating these issues are grounded in our realities. Our work aims to move the discussion from the current dominant “equality-growth” narrative to that of examining the connection between gender equality and economic transformation. So we want to produce new insights and evidence beyond what we find in the dominant narrative. To do so, we asking what issues need further understanding to advocate for a positive relationship whereby measures to improve inequalities also contribute to economic transformation, and vice-versa, in the African context.

ACET’s gender equality program is relatively new. But we are focused on generating new evidence, fully cognizant of the diversities within the continent and the diversities among women in the continent. This should contribute to the knowledge base on the issue not only in Africa but also around the world.

How would you assess the state of gender equality today, and what are some ways that you can measure progress?

Mengesha: Although we still have a long way to go, we have to acknowledge progress in closing gender inequalities in Africa. However, the level of progress in important indicators in the social, economic, and political realms in Africa is not at par with other regions of the world. And there are significant variations among countries on the continent.

For example, Africa has made important progress in reducing inequalities in access to education, particularly at primary and secondary levels. This falls short compared to other regions that have closed gender gaps in access at this level at a much earlier period. Some countries in the continent have closed gender gaps in primary enrollment. In fact, in some countries (32 countries to be exact, according to a recent ISS report) more girls are enrolled compared to boys, while others lag behind by a large margin. So, the picture of progress and stalling is not so straightforward.

One’s assessment of gender equality is very much influenced by the end goal. Our advocacy for closing gender inequalities may be inspired by recognizing its important contribution for broader end goals like economic development. It can also be inspired by the wish to challenge and change the material realities of poor human well-being and undignified life that many women are forced to live under in Africa. These goals may not be mutually exclusive and need not be mutually exclusive. However, they influence how we measure progress or otherwise in closing gender gaps. For example, data shows that Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions of the world with relatively high levels of female labor force participation (around 60 percent). However, that participation is also characterized by enough features of vulnerability that its ultimate effect on women may not be all that positive. It may even come at the expense of the well-being of “working” women. Women do this work because this is what our economies offer women.

In light of this, our assessment on gender equality ought to ask: “Are we making progress in removing barriers that stand in the way of women making meaningful choices and acting on these choices to see desired changes in their lives?” The barriers are found in many locations: our state institutions (the very structures and resulting laws and policies affecting resource allocation and utilization); our communities (the informal rules and norms that determine all aspects of our actions and beings); our households (where women and men negotiate on decision making on resources, all aspects of their lives and that of their children); and markets (where resource allocation and its returns are determined).

When we translate these to familiar indicators, we are looking at progress in equality of representation within formal state structures; gender responsiveness of formal laws and policies; equality in access to and utilization of essential services; equality in access to and control over economic resources; equal right to work; equality in returns from economic engagement; equality in marriage and divorce; changes in perceptions and attitudes on gender inequalities and attendant practices and on overall levels of security (life and bodily security) for women.

We should not forget that all of these operate in a global environment where unequal relations among countries/regions is the order of the day due in part to historical and also the current prevailing circumstances. Africa is adversely affected by the unequal relations manifested in limited state capacity, in particular in terms of limited policy and fiscal space. Despite these challenges, African governments have to do their homework particularly in relation to the measures within their reach.

Governments often fail to implement recommendations or adopt a gender lens when developing economic policy. What causes this lack of action?

Mengesha: There are several reasons, but I will focus on two of the biggest. First, there is the issue of how difficult it is to challenge and change the status quo in terms of power distribution at all levels and locations—at the national, community, and global levels, but also within families and in markets. How can we change it?

At the national level, for example, it about is bringing more women into leadership roles. At the community level, it is about reconfiguring the boundaries of acceptable behavior for women and men in ways that previous constraints did not necessarily allow. In households, it is fairly distributing the burden of running a household, as well as the authority to make decisions among women and men. At the level of markets, it is about recognizing and counting all activities that sustain production, exchange and consumption—and in so doing recognizing care work as productive economic activity. All of these collectively constitute ways to deploy a gender lens in economic policymaking. We are failing because we do not want to seriously disrupt the status quo in power distribution. Power distribution is considered as a zero-sum game rather than as enlarging the very pie.

The other reason relates to the technical deficit. Employing a gender lens in policymaking, as in other areas of policymaking, requires certain technical skills. Any economic policy issue has gender dimensions. Recognizing these through adequate problem analysis, objective formulation and strategy development requires gender analysis skills. This is a critical gap and unfortunately a gap that is rarely recognized by decision-makers.

Related to this is the failure to adequately understand the value addition in addressing inequalities. Gender related investment is considered to be welfare/consumptive investments rather than productive investment. This partly draws from the history of gender and development discourse particularly as it relates to our part of the world.

What do you see as ACET’s contribution to addressing these specific challenges?

Mengesha: I would like to focus on a few issues here. First, we need to continue to build evidence and show how gender equality contributes to enlarging the pie. That it is indeed productive investment. This will be about showing how gender equality and economic transformation are positively linked. This is one of the focus areas of our work.

Second, although many decades of research have gone into investigating effective policies to promote gender equality, we still need context aware research and evidence grounded in the diverse African contexts in terms of what works best and under what circumstances. For example, we know that representation matters for promoting legal equality in economic opportunities. In the context of Africa and considering the diverse realities in different African countries, does representation in particular government branch matter more than others? Similarly, does representation in economic sectors matter more than social sectors? We need more evidence on these and similar issues.

Third—and this is related to the first point—different dimensions of gender inequalities have been the subject of analysis for many years across the continent, including economic dimensions of gender inequalities. However, the focus of the analysis has largely been on the micro-level particularly focusing on women’s economic empowerment with limited engagement at macro-level economic policymaking, which would have strong bearing on outcomes of empowerment interventions.

ACET’s work, particularly in terms of evidence, generation attempts to examine macro-economic policymaking and the role of gender inequalities in that discussion. In this regard, it will have significant contributions in providing the necessary evidence for policymakers and shaping the discourse on gender and the economy in the continent.

The next African Transformation Report (ATR), coming out later this year, will focus on gender equality. How can it help influence and shape policies in a gender-positive way?

Mengesha: Through the next ATR, we are investigating how gender equality and economic transformation are related, which would greatly expand the knowledge base. We have relatively established literature on the links between gender equality and economic growth, although it may not be conclusive, but that is not the case with economic transformation. The report will aim to show how these twin goals—economic transformation and gender equality—are positively linked and support one another. However, economic policymaking has to be intentional to ensure that these two goals are mutually reinforcing.

What does this mean in practice? To start we are producing a number of country and region-focused studies that will feed into and help inform the report. We will also look closely at the progress in different dimensions of gender equality in countries across the continent. Which countries are doing well, and which countries are not progressing as much?

In examining this, the report will delve into understanding how imbalance in power distribution—as an underlying cause for gender inequality—manifests at different levels and locations in African societies. Then we can ask: What mechanisms do countries that are doing well in closing gender gaps put in place to address power issues? What can we learn from these countries that can be replicated elsewhere? These are some of the questions the report will answer.

Ultimately, we want the next ATR to provide the required evidence from different regions of the continent on how to achieve gender equality and economic transformation at the same time. I mentioned this previously. We are hopeful that the evidence generated, coupled with strong and targeted advocacy, will offer a roadmap for how a gender lens can be employed in economic policymaking in Africa.

Of course, we also see the report and the evidence generated from the background papers as the foundation to inform further research and analysis at ACET. As I mentioned, the program is relatively new. I just joined last year. It is incredibly exciting to envision where we can go from here. For example, issues that need further understanding and investigating in this area will come to light through the report. And we will help ensure they become part of the African gender agenda and discourse.

To learn more about ACET’s Gender Equality Program, visit acetforafrica.org/gender-equality

This interview was featured in the latest edition of our newsletter African Transformation Quarterly, which focused on Gender Equality. You can read the entire newsletter here, explore our archive of past newsletters here, and subscribe here