WOMEN AND EMPLOYMENT

 

The conference on Women and Employment in Africa was the second of five thematic conferences held in Africa during 2008.

The conference was hosted by three members of the Africa Commission: Ms Luísa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mozambique, Ms. Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation in Denmark, and Dr. Greg Mills, Director of the Brenthurst Foundation. Furthermore, the conference was opened by the President of the Republic of Mozambique, Mr. Armando Guebuza.

The objective of the thematic conferences was to secure a string of recommendations that could be used in the further work of the Africa Commission, and to ensure African and civil society ownership in the process.

A broad range of participants

More than 50 participants, mostly from the Southern and East African region, represented a broad range of actors from government institutions, civil society and the private sector.
Participants included women's organizations, NGO's, business associations, academics and officials within relevant ministries from the Southern and East African governments.

The one-day conference was divided between plenary sessions and smaller working groups, in which the participants discussed specialized sub-themes connected to the main theme of Women and Employment in Africa.

Themes for the working groups

The following themes served as inspiration and guides to the discussions of the working groups:

1. Women's occupations and workload
2. Women's entrepreneurship
3. Agriculture and rural economies
4. Labour intensive manufacturing
5. Social protection
6. Advancing women's economic empowerment 

Documents for the Maputo conference

To the right, you can download background papers and the final conference report. Additional documents can be found here:

Agenda
Opening notes by commissioner Dr. Greg Mills
Concluding notes by commissioner Dr. Greg Mills