Women Today in Africa

Women Today in Africa

The status of women in Africa today is a series of paradoxes. On the one hand, women have a dignified role as mothers and nurturers of their families. On the other hand, they are not accorded many of the economic, educational, and political rights women have in other parts of the world

According to the UN Development Fund for Women, eight out of ten African women workers have vulnerable employment, meaning they contribute to family work or are self-employed. These informal work arrangements are paid too low to generate savings and lack social protection. Through these jobs, women have become the backbone of Africa's "informal" economy. However, they have been unable to reap the benefits from the sustained growth of their national economies because they are marginalized by deregulation and privatization, labor migration, and resulting changes in family structures. Women in Africa are described as "the face of poverty". This directly relates with the lack of economic opportunities or access to resources, including credit, land ownership, inheritance, and support services.

However, also over the past decade, the political and social context in Africa has been noted for its increased political will by African States to address issues of gender inequality and women's human rights. Africa's share of parliamentary seats held by women is now in line with the global average. The share has increased from 7% in 1990 to 17% in 2007. Rwanda ranks first among all countries with 39 women elected to parliament and now outnumber men for instance. Also, there are prominent women that have emereged within the past decade such as Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Zimbabwe Vice President Joice Mujuru, as well as numerous female ministers. There is World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Kenyan Nobel prize winning environmentalist Wangari Maathai. One might think from their examples that the status of Africa women has taken a great leap forward. Unfortunately, these women are the exceptions to the rule for most women in Africa, who live