If Africa continues on the current pace – where there is progress in some countries and stagnation in others – it will take 142 years to achieve a fair proportion of men and women in different fields.
That is according to the latest report released in Kigali on Tuesday by McKinsey, a global consulting firm.
According to the firm, equal contribution of women and men to every dimension of life whether private or public, also known as gender parity, will take longer to be realized if countries do nothing to change the current pace of progress.
McKinsey plotted performance of countries on how they do with equality in society, and the result showed that it would take more than 140 years for Africa to achieve gender parity.
Mayowa Kuyoro, associate partner at McKinsey Africa says they have been collecting data since 2015 and measuring each indicator considered in the report.
"So we said, if we continue at the current pace of growth, how long would it take for us to get 50-50 balance? We got 140 years,” she explains.
Participants at Global Gender Summit Kigali 2019 on November 26, 2019. Emmanuel Kwizera.
McKinsey analysed gender equality performance of Africa’s 39 economies and concluded that Africa has not advanced women’s equality over the past four years.
The continent scored 0.58 against the benchmark of 1 (one), indicating high gender inequality.
Parity, however, differs substantially among countries. In Rwanda, South Africa, Ethiopia and Namibia, there is relatively high gender equality compared to Mauritania, Niger and Mali.
The results of the study indicate that women accounted for more than 50 per cent of Africa’s population but generated only 33 per cent of gross domestic product in 2018.
That is because women still face high gender inequality both in work and in society, they say.
In terms of essential services like health and education, the continent has a long way to go relative to the rest of the world.
A case in point is the maternal mortality rate. A woman in Africa is four times more likely to die at childbirth than the global average.
"This is one of the worrying indicators,” Lohini Moodley, a partner at McKinsey says.
The same can be said for education. Africa is the worst-performing region when it comes to parity in education between boys and girls.
Yet, Moodley notes, there is a huge correlation between education and the quality of lives women need, hence the call for investment in human capital.
On the other hand, women still occupy "staff roles” – mostly support roles and less about strategic decision making. The report suggests empowering women to attain "line roles”.
"We want to see sustained and coordinated action to reverse it,” Kuyoro says.
Progress made
Kuyoro thinks there is a thing or two to celebrate but "we shouldn’t rest on our lows” instead push to make sure that females have equal outcomes at work is needed.
"Countries need to work to make sure that women become productive members of society,” she says.
Africa has made progress on gender equality at work, although some of it has been driven by actions in a few economies.
The continent also performs well on labour force participation. It has one of the highest scores in the world.
However, Africa’s economies are mostly informal and women are disproportionately represented in informal economies and therefore they are subject to vulnerable employment.
Women in leadership is another aspect where the continent does well. Africa has a higher representation of women on boards as well as executive committees.
Africa is also home to some of the highest political representation in the world.
Rwanda has made good progress on different indicators. The country was ranked among countries that are called "leaders” owing to its progress of equality at work and in society.
The report says Rwanda has made progress in middle management, political representation and the legal protection that women enjoy in the country.
"We see Rwanda as one of the inspiring stories to draw from. We are not saying it’s perfect but it’s one of the leaders on the continent,” Moodley says.
Rwanda has increased women’s representation in middle-management roles (heads of specific departments and business units) by 27 per cent.
According to Clare Akamanzi, the Chief Executive at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Rwanda’s progress is hinged on the government’s deliberate choices to empower women.
She said Rwanda opened up the political space for women, paid maternity leave and created specialised institutions and forums to oversee the implementation of gender policies.
By the Government playing a leading role, she said, the private sector has been motivated as well.
"Today, we have a number of women CEOs in companies in the private sector. The Private Sector Federation also has a Chamber of Women which seeks ways to promote women’s growth,” she told participants at the Global Gender Forum.
The next task is to now have more women owning businesses in the next decade, she added.
To achieve that, the report suggests creating economic opportunities for women, leveraging technology, shaping attitudes and driving fact-based advocacy.
"To move the needle on gender equality, we need to get down the job,” Moodley says.
McKinsey estimates the continent could add $316 billion to its GDP by 2025 if every country were to match the progress toward gender equality of the African country that has progressed the fastest over the last 5 years.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com