The Africa Region. From Beijing 95 to the year 2000

In recent years, evolving global economic trends, coupled with political instability, widespread armed conflict and growing poverty, have significantly affected African women's participation in the labour force and their contribution to the region's economic development. This poses a serious challenge to attempts to enhance the role and status of women in Africa, as enshrined in the Beijing Declaration of 1995.

Globalization of the economy has shifted demand from the primary sectors to the service sectors, thereby reducing income opportunities for African producers, who mainly export primary goods. Moreover, Africa's labour force lacks the requisite resources and skills to compete effectively in today's globalized market. Structural adjustment programmes and debt servicing have resulted in a systematic reduction of social services and a decrease in the value of goods produced by women in the primary sector. While the African Continent as a whole has lagged behind in terms of economic development, it is the women who have been hardest hit because of historically stark inequities in economic and educational opportunities, and the provision of social services.

As a result, the vast majority of women in Africa continue to be engaged in subsistence agriculture just as they were prior to independence three decades ago. Also, while women's economic contribution to the household has increased in the past decades, only a relatively small percentage of women in Africa have been able to take advantage of new opportunities. However, far from being passive victims of economic change, women, by their economic behaviour, have often determined the very direction of economic transformation in their communities.

Aside from disrupting political and economic life, armed conflict in Africa has resulted in a deepening of poverty. An alarming development in the past decade is that most victims of these wars are women and children; the unarmed have become the targets of the armed forces. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that most of Africa's seven million refugees are women and their dependents. This worrisome state of affairs has had a further debilitating effect on social development, economic prospects and the quality of life. A lasting resolution of these crises is indispensable for Africa's development

Although African societies are diverse in terms of social organization, there are certain characteristics which are shared by most of them. One of these is the complexity of gender roles. Traditionally, women play varied roles and have different status based on age, kinship and affiliation. These determine and confer various levels of authority in different domains of the public and private spheres, as well as access to material and human resources.

In the last fifty years, some important changes have occurred. Women have played a significant role in the shift from a traditional subsistence economy to a more open, trade-dependent economy, which has transformed rural societies throughout the African Continent. In spite of this, while men's participation as labourers in the modern sectors is visible, women's role in the transformation of the traditional units of production within their communities remains largely invisible, as does their contribution to the modern economy.

An accurate assessment of women's position and status within the societies of the African Continent requires some understanding of the complexity and variety of their roles. Only then can interventions be targeted for optimum results.

Since 1995 overall levels of literacy in sub-Saharan Africa have risen from 40 to 50% on average. Female enrollment appears to have increased, although relatively few women are enrolled in institutions of higher learning. Infant mortality rates increased from an average of 96 to 104 per 1,000 births, while maternal mortality has remained fairly constant. The number of female-headed households, currently estimated at 25%, has risen notably in the past decade.

In sub-Saharan Africa more than 75% of working women operate in the agricultural sector, only about 3% operate in industry, and roughly 15% are in the services sector. In contrast, only 20% of women in North Africa may be found in the agricultural sector, while around 56% are in the services sector and 26% in industry. In most of Africa, few women participate in formal employment. Those engaged in formal employment are concentrated predominately in clerical positions in the public sector. The majority of women are self-employed in the primary productive sector or in the informal sector.

There is growing evidence in Africa of a strengthened political will to improve the status of women. An increasing number of governments have established ministries and mechanisms to address gender issues specifically and to integrate women's concerns in all aspects of political, economic and social development. Countries like Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali, have recently established a ministry of women's affairs. A significant proportion of African governments has ratified the conventions which bind them to the promotion of gender equality in the world of work. Moreover, workers and employers associations have created gender focal points to deal specifically with women's concerns.

Women on the African Continent have the lowest levels of formal sector participation in the world. Those who are employed in the formal sector are under-represented in management posts. This may be attributed to a complex array of factors including inadequate access to skills training and formal education, discriminatory practices in the formal sector and sexual stereotyping of professions.

The majority of African women are employed in the agriculture and informal sectors. Such employment is characterized by low returns to labour, low wages, and substandard working conditions.

Globalization of the economy and structural adjustment programmes have marginalized women workers and sharply curtailed access to social "safety nets".

Armed conflict has affected large numbers of women and their dependents. In many areas of rural Africa, land mines have rendered vast farming areas unsafe. The destruction of infrastructure and the means of production threaten to impede human capital development for many generations.

African women are generally unaware of the legal instruments at their disposal. Modern law (the adoption of Dutch-Roman law) and an opportunistically simplified interpretation of women's status in traditional society have relegated women to the status of legal minors. Thus, access to productive resources such as credit and individually owned land, rights to assets independently of a spouse and to extend social benefits accruing from their employment to their dependents, are routinely denied them.

The subsistence-farming sector and the informal sector show the highest incidences of rural and urban poverty. Historically, inadequate investments have been made in both of these sectors by most governments. Female-headed households have higher incidences of poverty than male-headed households, and the number of female-headed households is growing because of the consequences of war and worker migration.

Despite the political willingness to implement strategies to improve women's participation in the world of work, many constituents lack the technical skills and material resources to achieve their goals.

Finally, the importance of collecting gender-disaggregated data (i.e., broken down by sex) and applying it systematically to the identification of a strategy specific to the region must be strongly emphasized. This is an essential ingredient for restoring the balance of opportunities for African women in the world of work.

Recommendations for future programmes

Develop capacity within the ILO as well as with constituents

There is an urgent need to develop capacity within the ILO offices in the region and provide more intensive training for team members. This will require the creation of more gender posts in the region.

More follow-up of successful programmes

Experience has shown that many of the ILO's gender-focused programmes have been very successful. However, once the initial stage of the project is completed, little is done to consolidate the gains and expand the programme's influence. It is, therefore, necessary to allocate the resources to follow-up these programmes.

More streamlining to regional and sub-regional specificities

A systematic analysis of the specifities of the constituents and their needs in the world of labour is required to write region specific guidelines and checklists.

More direct contact with decision-makers in the field

Experience has shown that there is a greater possibility for sustainability when decision-makers participate in the projects. All the successful projects had components which promoted dialogue between participants and decision-makers at all levels.

Liaising with development partners

It is important to place greater emphasis on liaising with development partners and to focus their attention on the manner in which gender and labour-related issues articulate with their goals.

Gender! A Partnership of Equals Geneve: International Labour Office, 2000. 115 p.

Gender! A Partnership of Equals
Geneve: International Labour Office, 2000. 115 p.