Sub-Saharan Africa: Give Education Opportunities to Women

Fitting with the U.N.'s theme for International Women's Day this year -- women in leadership -- Gallup looks at the never-before-released results on a series of questions that we asked on this topic in 2019 and early 2020.

Gallup asked women and men in 74 countries questions in four areas that are key to starting conversations in an action-driven way: women's leadership in politics and in the workplace, their opportunities for education, and whether movements such as #MeToo help to reduce harassment and sexual abuse of women.

Majorities in Most Countries Think a Woman Could Lead Them in the Next 10 Years

Women have been present in various levels of political leadership for years in Africa, but former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's election as the first female head of state in 2006 opened the door for others who have occupied the top leadership posts since. Africa currently has just one female president and three female prime ministers, but majorities across most of the 21 countries surveyed in 2019 say it is possible that a woman could lead their country in the next 10 years.

	Possible	Not possible	Woman already leads my country*
	%	%	%
Mauritius**	87	11	--
Rwanda**	83	13	--
Mozambique**	75	17	1
Botswana	73	21	1
Ivory Coast	69	25	1
Senegal**	67	28	1
Lesotho	66	30	--
Togo**	66	27	--
Benin	65	31	--
Gabon**	65	29	--
Guinea	60	30	--
Burkina Faso	59	30	1
Mali**	58	38	--
Republic of Congo	56	40	--
Chad	53	36	1
Cameroon	52	41	--
Comoros	52	39	2
Madagascar	47	44	1
Niger	46	41	--
Zimbabwe	42	45	--
Mauritania	27	55	1
** Have had a female prime minister or president at one time *Volunteered response
Gallup World Poll, 2019

In Madagascar, Niger and Zimbabwe residents are evenly divided as to whether it is possible for a woman to become the leader of their country in the next 10 years. Mauritania is the only country surveyed where a majority (55%) says it is not possible for a woman to be their country's leader. Such attitudes in Mauritania may reflect the relatively low representation that women have in the country's national politics. However, the 2014 election featured the country's second-ever female candidate.

With a few exceptions, most men and women believe it is possible for a woman to lead their country someday soon, but women in many countries are more confident than men in this possibility. A median of 65% of women across the 21 countries surveyed say it is possible for this to happen in the next 10 years, compared with a median of 57% of men.

Male Managers Preferred Over Female Managers

While the numbers of women in management positions in Africa have improved in some countries in recent years, women in many countries (where data are available) still largely remain underrepresented in middle and senior management. Based on residents' attitudes as to their preference for a manager -- a man or a woman -- this dynamic is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Across the 21 countries surveyed, a median of 47% say that if they could choose to have a man or a woman as a manager, they would prefer a man. A median of 34% would prefer a woman. Men as managers are preferred in all except four countries. While residents in Lesotho, Chad and Togo are more divided, people in Mauritius are the only ones to prefer a woman to a man as a manager.

	Woman	Man	No preference
	%	%	%
Lesotho	48	46	5
Benin	45	41	12
Mauritius	43	35	18
Madagascar	43	50	6
Chad	42	43	13
Togo	40	40	18
Mozambique	40	47	9
Zimbabwe	39	44	15
Senegal	37	43	19
Guinea	37	49	13
Niger	34	53	11
Mali	31	54	14
Ivory Coast	31	56	11
Republic of Congo	30	58	10
Burkina Faso	30	44	23
Botswana	30	38	28
Rwanda	28	56	11
Mauritania	27	42	24
Gabon	27	49	21
Comoros	26	68	5
Cameroon	24	58	16
Gallup World Poll, 2019

Men in the region decidedly prefer a male manager to a female manager if given the choice: a median of 56% say that they prefer a man as their boss. Women, on the other hand, are more divided, with a median of 43% saying they would prefer a woman and 39% preferring a male manager. In six of the countries, including Benin, Madagascar, Niger, Chad, Lesotho and Mauritius, a majority of women say they would prefer a female boss.

More Believe Women Should Get College Scholarships

Although millions of young people have swelled the ranks of colleges and universities across sub-Saharan Africa over the past few decades, the percentage of the population enrolled in tertiary education still remains far lower than elsewhere around the world. And within that population, females continue to be underrepresented: For every 100 males enrolled in tertiary education in 2013, 72 females were enrolled.

With gender parity in higher education slowly improving in sub-Saharan Africa, people may realize how female education disproportionately improves social welfare. Across the 21 countries surveyed, a median of 46% say if a similarly qualified woman and man were competing for a single scholarship to a university, the scholarship should go to the woman. A median of 38% say it should go to the man.

	Woman	Man	No preference
	%	%	%
Togo	54	32	11
Senegal	53	32	14
Madagascar	52	39	6
Zimbabwe	52	28	19
Lesotho	50	33	12
Chad	50	33	14
Benin	49	39	10
Guinea	48	42	9
Rwanda	47	38	12
Mauritius	47	18	23
Mali	46	46	7
Burkina Faso	46	34	16
Mozambique	45	43	10
Ivory Coast	43	42	12
Republic of Congo	36	54	8
Cameroon	36	48	13
Comoros	35	60	3
Gabon	35	34	25
Botswana	34	16	45
Niger	31	58	9
Mauritania	30	32	28
Gallup World Poll, 2019

Still, this attitude does not prevail everywhere. In four countries, Niger, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Comoros, people are more likely to say the scholarship should go to the man. In several others, including Mali, Mozambique, Mauritania, Gabon and Ivory Coast, populations are more divided as to who should get it.

Men and women across the region do not agree on who the recipient of the scholarships should be. Women are far more likely to believe this shot at higher education should go to the female, with a median of 52% saying a woman should get the scholarship versus 27% who say it should go to the man. Men are more likely to say that the man should get the scholarship, but they are more divided than women are: A median of 47% say the scholarship should go to the man, and 36% say it should go to the woman.

Movements Such as #MeToo Are More Likely Seen as Helping Women

The #MeToo movement that started in the U.S. may not have been as widespread in sub-Saharan Africa as it was in other parts of the world, but it has had an impact in a number of countries. For example, it reportedly motivated female university students in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Sierra Leone to protest against sexual violence.

Still, in a region where speaking out against such experiences is taboo, residents are more likely to say that movements such as #MeToo have helped reduce harassment and sexual abuse of women in their countries. A median of 52% say such movements help, while 22% say they do not. However, a substantial percentage, 18%, say they have never heard of such movements.

	Yes	No	Never heard of it
	%	%	%
Rwanda	73	9	8
Zimbabwe	61	10	22
Lesotho	60	22	6
Mauritius	59	17	10
Benin	57	27	9
Mali	56	21	20
Botswana	55	17	18
Senegal	55	9	30
Madagascar	53	37	4
Mozambique	53	23	16
Comoros	52	32	8
Niger	51	19	19
Guinea	49	25	18
Ivory Coast	45	24	12
Republic of Congo	40	42	11
Burkina Faso	38	25	25
Cameroon	38	25	27
Togo	37	22	26
Chad	33	20	28
Gabon	32	35	20
Mauritania	28	16	36
Gallup World Poll, 2019

Women and men across the region are both more likely to see these movements as helpful than not. A median of 50% of women compared with 52% of men say that these movements help reduce harassment and sexual abuse of women in their countries.

Implications

These results provide an important baseline to measure Africans' mindsets on women's roles in the not-so-distant future. Harnessing Africans' readiness to have women in leadership positions, whether in politics or at work, is important to building equitable societies. And increasing access to quality education, especially at the university level, will be key to putting African women on their path to such leadership roles for generations to come.

Listen to Magali Rheault discuss the issues facing women in sub-Saharan Africa today and in the future.

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