The 2011 UN General Assembly resolution on women’s political participation found that women in every part of the world continue to face barriers in the political sphere, often as a result of discriminatory laws, low levels of education, attitudes and gender stereotypes. These all contribute to low levels of political participation among women. A study by Boston Consulting Group shows that when men are deliberately engaged in gender inclusion programs, 96% of organisations see progress compared to only 30% of organisations where men are not engaged. According to a study done by the McKinsey Global Institute If women were to participate identically in the economy to men, it would add 12% to the GDP of sub-Saharan Africa by 2025.
Below are a few facts and figures of women's role in Sub-Sarahan Africa:
1. According to the results of data retrieved from the World Bank Gender Data Portal, globally, only 1 in 3 businesses are owned by women with sub-Saharan Africa making up 29% of the share of small, medium, and large firms.
2. In Nigeria 17% of new businesses are most likely to be female-led. It is currently the country with the biggest gain of newly registered women-owned businesses between 2014 and 2018.
3. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide. Women, there have won almost 64% of seats in the lower house.
4. According to World Bank data, Sub-Saharan African women made up just 45% of the middle-income labour market, compared to 75% of men.
5. According to figures from the United Nations Police, Rwanda, Senegal, and Ghana are the top contributors to female police officers. Rwanda tops the list with 216, followed by Senegal with 100, and Ghana with 78.
Although we applaud the changes we see happening it is still not enough, we urge you to actively challenge yourself to develop strategies that answer this question "what will I do to positively impact fair treatment for women and help decrease the gap of gender inequality?". This is because we all have a responsibility to contribute to the key goals for UN SDGs come 2030, which is to contribute towards universally getting rid of the root causes of discrimination that curtail women’s rights in public and private spheres, and promoting inclusive and ensuring sustainable economic growth is met.
Sadly, the glass ceiling is yet to be broken by SSA women in business. There are still challenges in accessing basic enabling factors for successful entrepreneurship. Access to affordable, adequate capital and business disruptive technology are massive stumbling blocks. In Kenya, reports show that the percentage of women owning assets that can be used as financing collateral is still very low. In addition, it's been proven that access to information and skills for disruptive technology is limited for SSA women and largely because of the male-centred engineering and design of such innovations. Safety net initiatives by the public and private sectors e.g Women Enterprise Fund, AGPO in Kenya are yet to address these glaring gaps. Forward-thinking it is necessary to…