Zineb Sqalli: “Gender equality and ecological transition go hand in hand”

AFRIK 21: You and five other women co-authored the analysis “African Women’s Voices: Rethinking the Narrative of Women’s Role in African Societies”, published in May 2023 by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). What prompted you to carry out this study?

Zineb Sqalli: We realised that there were very few studies giving a voice to African women, despite the plethora of academic publications on them. So we wanted to take advantage of The Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) centre of expertise in customer insight, which conducts research into consumer behaviour for our private sector clients, to understand the perceptions of women and men about the place of women in African economies and the main challenges they face.

The other motivation is the decline in the rate of participation of African women in the economy, which began before COVID and has still not managed to recover, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

And in May 2023, we published the report: “African Women’s Voices: Rethinking the Narrative of Women’s Role in African Societies”.

How was the study carried out?

A three-pronged approach. The first – analytical – part consists of an analysis of the macro-economic indicators that make up the Global Gender Gap, an indicator used worldwide by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to measure the gap between men and women. This indicator measures four dimensions: education, health, economic participation and women’s political representation. The aim is to create what are known as archetypes of African countries, i.e. groups of countries that share a common reality while taking into account the diversity of each of them.

The second part was based on an ethnographic study. In other words, to try and understand and feed into these archetypes, we conducted dozens of focus groups in different countries to understand the place of women in African economies.

The third stage involved interviewing 6,000 men and women in the six countries targeted by the study (Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa), in order to gain a better understanding of women’s perceptions of themselves and of men on the issue of gender equality.

What are the obstacles to women’s economic participation in Africa?

We have identified common points, but also obstacles that are specific to each country. The first common obstacle is insecurity and violence, which take different forms in different countries. In southern Africa, for example, and to a lesser extent in the West and East Africa sub-regions, the major obstacle is domestic violence, while in the countries of North Africa it is insecurity. Insecurity not so much in the home, but rather in public spaces and the workplace.

Beyond the issue of violence, social norms also play a major role in the level of women’s participation in the economy, hence the need for change. One of the women we interviewed told us that ‘The ultimate model of success for a woman is to be the mother of a successful boy’. This narrative differs from country to country, but it is still difficult to see women as economic drivers, because their role is so closely associated with that of educating the younger generations. This is reflected in the lack of childcare facilities, the heavy burden of domestic burdens, the scarcity of models of professional success for women who are also mothers, and so on.

This can of course be a personal choice in itself. But when the levels of economic participation are so low, it is no longer a personal or family choice, but one made by society.

Some interesting figures from our study:

45-50% of men and women interviewed in Morocco and Egypt believe that if the father or husband earns enough money to provide for his family, the wife does not need to work.

30-40% of men and women questioned in South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria felt that it was normal for a man to be paid more than a woman for the same qualifications.

Let’s just say that education is a feminine role in the economic world.

Exactly! It’s as if African countries, especially those in North Africa, were running on a single engine. The other engine – women – is in good working order, their level of access to education and health is above the world average. But despite everything, this engine is under-exploited. The aim of our analysis is also to point out what needs to change. This is obviously access to infrastructure, entrepreneurship and education, but more importantly, it is about changing the narrative around the role of women.

In South Africa, for example, the narrative has changed very quickly. From a narrative of fragile South African women, it has moved on to a narrative of stronger women, referred to by the popular term ‘Mbokodo’, which means ‘solid as a rock’, and who thus become almost a threat to men, accentuating the phenomenon of domestic violence. In these countries, the narrative must continue to evolve to present women as men’s partners rather than their rivals.

What other levers can be put in place by the public authorities?

The legislative lever is extremely powerful. Not so much for the ‘coercive’ effect, but more for the debate it introduces into society. Legislative amendments could concern legislation on violence against women, legislation on women’s representativeness and legislation on the facilitation of tax incentives for proactive companies in terms of diversity, for example.

But it’s not just about legislation…

Absolutely! Education is also a fundamental lever for deconstructing gender stereotypes from an early age. This means raising awareness among teachers, changing the content of school textbooks, etc., as Finland has been doing for over 50 years now.

The media also have a major role to play. Africa has a very young and connected population. Social networks make a major contribution to the construction of social narratives, particularly with regard to the role of women.

So what kind of world do you think a world where men and women are equal would be?

It would be a better world for both, where men and women would not be pitted against each other, but where we would benefit from the complementary nature of both. It would be a world that was more balanced, fairer and richer in economic terms. And finally, it would be a world with greater ecological awareness.

So how can Africa, which is the continent most affected by climate change and which at the same time has the highest proportion of women entrepreneurs in the world, provide solutions on a global scale and show the way to a more sustainable and egalitarian world?

This coincidence is striking. There is another interesting ‘intersection’ on the continent: the majority of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are women. And we know that agriculture is a major sector both for mitigating the effects of global warming (through reforestation and carbon capture, for example) and for adapting farming practices to improve yields and, ultimately, food security.

These examples show that involving women in climate action is vital for the planet, and that climate action and reducing gender inequality go hand in hand.

               Interview by Inès Magoum and Delphine Chêne