At a parallel session during the 11th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11), UN Women, in collaboration with government officials, civil society, the private sector, and youth organizations, reinforced their dedication to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5): achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
The session emphasised the need for inclusive, integrated, and gender-sensitive strategies to drive progress toward SDG 5 and Agenda 2063.
This platform offered an opportunity to evaluate achievements, confront ongoing challenges, and map out transformative gender-focused development paths aligned with the ambitions of Agenda 2063. Speakers and attendees alike stressed the importance of embedding gender perspectives into planning, budgeting, and resource distribution. Integrating gender in public policies and institutions was seen as vital to removing systemic barriers and ensuring women and girls are actively included in Africa’s development.
Expanding women’s access to financial services—such as credit, entrepreneurial opportunities, and financial education—was identified as a priority. Panelists emphasized the need for innovative financial solutions developed through public-private partnerships to empower women economically and socially.
A shared concern was the disproportionate burden of unpaid care and domestic work on women, which hinders their economic participation. To address this, stakeholders advocated for greater investment in care services, adoption of family-friendly work policies, and formal recognition of care workers. These steps were seen as crucial to facilitating women’s full entry into the workforce.
Digital inclusion was another focal point. Increasing access to affordable digital tools and expanding digital literacy programs for women and girls were recommended to bridge the gender digital divide and unlock new opportunities in the digital economy.
Youth inclusion—particularly of young women—in decision-making processes was also emphasized. Stakeholders viewed intergenerational participation as essential for building inclusive, equitable, and resilient development strategies.
The forum reaffirmed its collective commitment to ending gender-based violence through comprehensive, multisectoral prevention and response frameworks. Participants called for holistic strategies to eliminate violence, viewing it as a significant obstacle to achieving gender equality.
With the climate crisis worsening existing inequalities, the session highlighted the urgent need for gender-responsive climate actions. Equitable access to land, technology, and green jobs was seen as vital for building inclusive, climate-resilient economies. Throughout the session, the importance of partnerships—across sectors and regions—was a recurring theme, with calls to strengthen collaboration among governments, civil society, businesses, and international partners.
The session also spotlighted several entrenched and emerging challenges hindering progress:
- Economic inequality
- Lack of female representation in leadership
- Disproportionate care responsibilities
- Gender-based violence
- Limited digital access
- Increased vulnerability to climate impacts
Stakeholders were encouraged to address these issues by applying a gender lens to traditionally overlooked sectors like transportation, urban planning, and infrastructure. Doing so would help create safer and more inclusive spaces for women and marginalized populations.
The need for decolonizing research and promoting community-led, participatory knowledge development was also raised. Advocates called for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge systems and the elevation of women and girls as both researchers and knowledge holders. A feminist research framework—centered on lived experiences, transformative policy change, and amplifying marginalized voices—was proposed.
Participants stressed the importance of Africa speaking with one unified voice in global arenas to ensure gender equality priorities are clearly presented. Strategic investments in care services, infrastructure, green jobs, and social safety nets were deemed essential to promoting inclusive growth and embedding gender equality in Africa’s development agenda.
The session closed with a renewed sense of purpose and unity, reinforcing the continent’s determination to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind. The discussions laid out a bold vision of collective action, mutual responsibility, and leadership centered on gender equity.