What East Africa should do to attain gender equality by 2030

Attainment of gender equality across East Africa by 2030 will require acceleration in commitment and action from all stakeholders.

During the 2024 Regional Gender Equality Conference held in Nairobi on Friday, it was noted that with just six years left, stakeholders across East Africa will have to expedite progress by ensuring equal representation and equal pay for work across the region by 2030.

The key areas of focus include urgent action to combat poverty, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, climate disasters and economic instability.

The experts have warned that without intervention, an estimated 342 million women and girls could be living below the poverty line by 2030. 

The 2024 Regional Gender Equality Conference was organised by the UN Global Compact Network Kenya in partnership with Danish Industry East Africa.

The conference organised under the theme, “Count her in: Accelerating gender equality through economic empowerment”, brought together leaders, experts and stakeholders from diverse sectors from all East African countries.

The conference aimed to discuss gender equality within the region with a special focus on reducing poverty and economic disparity, closing the gender gap in leadership and reducing the burden of unpaid care and domestic work.

Global Compact Network Kenya - Board member and Absa Bank Kenya CEO Abdi Mohamed noted that despite gender equality efforts across sectors and industries, overall progress has been alarmingly slow.

“Persistent challenges include a lower female labor participation rate, unequal pay, less frequent promotions for women, underrepresentation in boards and C-suite positions, sexual harassment, discrimination and the disproportionate burden of care on women,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed acknowledged that companies that prioritise women’s empowerment experience enhanced productivity, organizational effectiveness, revenue, profitability and corporate sustainability.

He further underscored the need to shift to a green economy noting that the current economic system intensifies poverty, inequality and environmental degradation, majorly affecting women and marginalized groups.

“There is a need to advocate for alternative economic models that propose a shift towards a green economy and care society that amplifies women’s voices,” he said.

The conference noted that the gender gap in power and leadership positions remains entrenched.

It warned that at the current rate of progress, the next generation of women will still spend on average 2.3 more hours per day on unpaid care and domestic work than men.

According to the Gender Snapshot 2023 report, progress on SDG 5 – Gender Equality - is way off track, with only two Goal 5 indicators being “close to target” and no SDG 5 indicator at the “target met or almost met” level.

The report highlights critical issues hindering progress in gender equality, including disparities in power and leadership, unpaid care burdens, poverty and climate change challenges.

According to the Women’s Empowerment Principles Gender Gap Analysis Tool (WEPs Tool), Kenya achieved a score of 41.1 per cent in 2023.

Notably, 13.2 per cent of the companies that used the tool have committed to gender equality with 19 per cent actively implementing diverse strategies.

However, only 5.1 per cent are in the process of measuring impact, and 4.4 per cent are reporting on their progress.

The WEPs tool is a business-driven tool designed to help companies from around the world assess gender equality performance across the workplace, marketplace and community.

It is a joint initiative of the UN Global Compact and UN Women, with the Tool designed to help companies better understand their gender equality performance, take stock of gaps and identify common barriers.

East Africa Confederation of Danish Industry Regional Manager Klaus Lehn Christensen said that the conference is a way of not only celebrating the progress made but also discussing how together the region can find solutions to the challenges faced in the area of gender equality.

“Globally, gender equality is also a key priority to Danish Industry and I am proud of the work we are doing with all our East African Organisations,” Christensen said.

“The challenges to gender equality are the same across the region and thus there is a great benefit in finding the solutions together,” Christensen added.

Alarmingly, the World Economic Forum warns that at the current rate, it will take 267 years to close the economic gender gap.