6 key recommendations for a gender-responsive social protection regime in Senegal

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated worldwide economic decline, East and Southern Africa (ESA) has suffered job losses and an increase in poverty, interruptions in healthcare services, and declined nutrition levels. Young adults whose place in the labor market is often informal, temporary, and tenuous at best have suffered greater job and income losses than their parents. As part of ensuring that recovery efforts also reduce the number of youth, young women, not in employment, education, or training (NEET), UN Women in ESA commissioned a quantitative study on the NEET status of youth aged 15-24 years in nine countries in the region. This report summarizes country findings and provides detailed analysis of available NEET data for youth aged 15-24 years with a view to supporting evidence-based policy advocacy and action in this area. This study covers Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.

The assessment offers a series of measures for re forming Ethiopian law to ensure that laws are gender sensitive and more effective at ensuring gender equal ity and non-discrimination. Most notable is that a total of 5 laws or provisions must be repealed in whole or in part; 26 laws must be revised or amended and two (2) new laws must be enacted to bring Ethiopia’s legislative framework in line with its regional and international obligations on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The report also emphasizes the need to prioritize the implementation of national laws that comply with gender equality standards, and in this context, recommends one policy measure to ensure that laws fully deliver on women’s rights

This study builds on UN Women’s achievements and experience in supporting women and girls during the COVID pandemic within the East and Southern Africa Region and other parts of the world.

The Zimbabwe Gender Forum Report discusses topical gender issues emerging from the 2020 annual gender forum held towards the end of 2020. The report aims to inform policy engagements on issues discussed.

The transition to a green economy will create many new jobs around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa. But will women share-in these new jobs, and will the economic transformation help them move into higher-paid, more stable jobs that require more education and skills? The short answer is “yes” – provided countries adopt strong policies and programmes to make it happen. The green economy transition is attracting attention in policy circles but its potential gender...

This analytical study covered ten countries in the region and looked at issues of access to justice for women and girls in East and Southern Africa.

The provision of universal childcare is critical to achieving the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to reduce gender inequalities in the labour market. Lack of quality and affordable childcare services is a major obstacle for women to participate in the labour market in Côte d’Ivoire. This brief summarizes findings of a study to quantify investment needs for universal childcare provision in Senegal, as well as employment and fiscal gains associated with such expansion...

The provision of universal childcare is critical to achieving the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to reduce gender inequalities in the labour market. Lack of quality and affordable childcare services is a major obstacle for women to participate in the labour market in Nigeria. This brief summarizes findings of a study to quantify investment needs for universal childcare provision in Nigeria, as well as employment and fiscal gains associated with such expansion of services. The...

The provision of universal childcare is critical to achieving the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to reduce gender inequalities in the labour market. Lack of quality and affordable childcare services is a major obstacle for women to participate in the labour market in Senegal. This brief summarizes findings of a study to quantify investment needs for universal childcare provision in Senegal, as well as employment and fiscal gains associated with such expansion of services. The...

This brief presents emerging evidence on the role the private sector can play in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in Nigeria by highlighting the key measures companies can take to move beyond traditional corporate social responsibility to combine profits with gender progress. Realizing the growing need for gender equality is also germane to the survival and development of girls and the building of healthy communities, a healthy society, and a healthy nation. The economic...

UN Women, Findev Canada and the African Fintech Advisory – Lelapa, facilitated in November 2019 a co-creation workshop bringing together investment officers from Development Finance Institutions and female Fund Managers from across Africa, specialized in financing women-led businesses. This report, which presents the results of the workshop, includes perspectives of both constituencies on blockages to make DFI finance flow to women SMEs in the continent, and identifies concrete proposals...

The working paper and accompanying policy brief provide an analysis of the progress and gaps across the continent in promoting young women’s role in decision-making and political processes across Africa. The paper further proposes recommendations for consideration by AU and AU Member States including for gender-responsive COVID 19 response and recovery plans that guarantee the participation and integration of the voices of young women.

The policy paper assesses the state of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Africa in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Informed by evidence from the five African Union (AU) regions, it outlines some of the initiatives implemented in AU Member States. The paper also proposes recommendations towards multi-sectoral response and recovery efforts that address GBV as well as the related needs of women and girls in Africa.

Ensuring adequate financing for gender equality is central to implementing and achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 51 and all gender targets across the framework. The principle of proper financing for gender equality is rooted in the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action (para 345 and 346) adopted in 1995. Inadequate financing hinders the implementation of gender-responsive laws and policies.

This policy paper highlights the emerging lessons and key priority actions drawn from UN Women–led child marriage programs in Malawi and Zambia that will be instructive to existing and future interventions across Africa. The paper is also timely as it recognizes the need for deliberate actions to ensure that COVID-19 does not reverse the gains made to end child marriages in Africa.

This paper analyses the ways in which technology helps women and contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , examines the various forms of technology-assisted violence against women and their impact and consequences in the light of the global and Africa region frameworks, how this type of violence impacts women’s lives, where various African governments are in terms of policy provision to access justice for victims, and proposed recommendations to end the vice.

The report draws on analysis of case studies both at national and regional level as a means of identifying targeted interventions on SDGs and GEWE. Accordingly, this publication has mapped all the 17 SDGs within the GEWE agenda including the various ways in which women and girls will remain key to the attainment of the global goals.

VAW is recognized as both a cause and consequence of gender inequality, and is a major obstacle to women and girls’ enjoyment of human rights and their full participation in society and the economy. The findings of the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey show that more than 1 out of 4 (26%) women age 14-59 experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 in Ethiopia.

The 2017 Status of Women in the UN Duty Station in Nairobi report was commissioned by UN Women’s Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (UN Women ESARO), at the request of the Network of Women Leaders in the UN Nairobi Duty Station to inform efforts to support the realisation of the System-wide Strategy on Gender Parity which was launched by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on 13 September 2017.