AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES

The document outlines the persistent gender gap in Africa despite a comprehensive framework of international and regional policies. It highlights the economic costs of gender inequality and establishes the basis for forecasting the impact of reducing these gaps on the continent's development by 2043.

• Despite the adoption of numerous international and regional protocols—including the Maputo Protocol and the African Union's Agenda 2063—gender equality remains a distant prospect in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is identified as the worst-performing region in the UNDP’s Gender Inequality Index.
• Current progress toward gender parity is slow and has been hindered by recent shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic. A McKinsey report indicates Africa's overall gender parity is 0.58, suggesting it could take 140 years to achieve full equality at the current rate.
• Gender inequality imposes significant economic costs on the continent. Between 2010 and 2014, annual economic losses due to gender gaps in sub-Saharan Africa reached US$95 billion, and discriminatory social institutions cost Africa approximately 7.5% of its GDP in 2019.
• Global social norms regarding gender roles remain stagnant. The UNDP 2023 Gender Social Norms Index report indicates that about 50% of the global population believes men make better political leaders and over 40% believe men make better business leaders.

APA

Yeboua, K., & Cilliers, J. (2026). AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=01-introduction

Chicago

Yeboua, Kouassi, and Jakkie Cilliers. AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=01-introduction.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yeboua |first1=Kouassi |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=01-introduction |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yeboua2026africa, author = {Yeboua, Kouassi and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=01-introduction}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }