C/ Alfonso XIII, 5.
35003 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. España
Tel.: +34 928 432 800
Email: info@casafrica.es
Gender equality is not a new priority for development for African countries; in fact, its importance has been recognized for a long time, since the African Union and its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, lead the defence of the women and girls rights several decades ago. There have been different milestones that show the progress in this matter:
However, despite the general recognition of women's rights and the benefits that equitable access to resources and opportunities for women and men would bring to society, inequalities persist.
The fact that the African women’s achievements of better economic and social well-being benefit the entire society is being acknowledged gradually at the regional and national levels. However, despite the growing awareness, the elimination of inequalities that affect women has not taken place at the same pace.
Throughout the African region, these inequalities are reflected in the access to economic assets, participation in the labour market, business opportunities and the benefit of natural resources and the environment and its paybacks.
The calculations of the UNDP Gender Index indicate that gender inequality is notable in almost all African countries; the gender gaps have had an impact on the Human Development of women, resulting in a lower index compared with men. On average, African women only reach 87% of the level of Human Development of men.
In Africa, the gender gap is the reason why women, who account for more than half of the continent's population, are socially, economically and politically marginalized, according to the 2016 Human Development Report in Africa, entitled "Accelerating the gender equality and the empowerment of women in Africa"; states that in 2014 only in sub-Saharan Africa about 95,000 million dollars were lost, equivalent to 6% of its GDP, due to gender inequality in the labour market.
By reducing the gender gap, it would be possible to achieve a great economic development on the African continent and it would also contribute significantly to achieve the national and international development goals; by ensuring that women receive the same economic, social and political opportunities as men, moving from legal to real equality, governments will ensure that their progress in the fields of economic growth and human development is fully inclusive and sustainable in the long term.
In the Canary Islands, through Casa África, the Canary Islands Parliament and the Government of the Canary Islands, many initiatives have been promoted, dynamized and created in which the African woman plays a leading role; similarly, different private foundations have launched specific programs for the empowerment of women in the African continent.
Casa África and the Women for Africa Foundation have implemented a permanent agreement of collaboration since 2015, in which both institutions work together for the progress and make visible the women of the continent. Casa África believes that women are the "guarantee for peace" and emphasizes the need to put African women at the centre of the joint activity programmed by both institutions. The determination of this institution is to place women in a central place of its strategy and activity.
Some of the different actions foreseen in the mentioned agreement will be conferences, events, congresses, courses and other events where African people and values for the attendees or to make visible the African values, with special focus to those that promote the participation and recognition of African women; thus promoting actions around education, health, economic development and empowerment, which contribute to the progress and well-being of African women.
On the other hand, the Cabildo of Fuerteventura leads the project AFRIMAC "PROJECT FOR BUSINESS EXCHANGE OF HIGH ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT TOPICS BETWEEN THE CANARY ISLANDS AND WESTERN AFRICA", which is financed by the Operational Program of Interreg Territorial Cooperation V-A MAC 2014-2020. AFRIMAC seeks to promote the internationalization of companies in the mentioned region of cooperation in high added value areas. In a transversal point of view, the aim is to improve the competitive potential and entrepreneurship in the productive sector in the abovementioned regions. Thus, a pilot project for the empowerment of women in the business world have been designed among other actions.
Within the framework of these initiatives, we have dynamize the I MEETING OF BUSINESS WOMEN ASSOCIATIONS OF THE ECOWAS with the main objective of strengthening these networks, consolidate them and give them a new momentum to increase the bonds of collaboration between the Canary Islands and the African continent.
Organisation
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Representatives of business associations in Africa and Spain, as well as international organizations with competence in women's empowerment and development, especially in the private sector.
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