The Women and Jobs in Africa Policy Research Workshop took place on November 11-12, 2025. You can access the event materials on the Agenda tab below. 

 

The submission period is now closed. We are no longer accepting submissions.

The African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), the University of Ghana-Legon, and the World Bank announce a competitive call for papers and participation in a two-day policy research workshop to be held on November 11-12, 2025, on the campus of the University of Ghana-Legon.

Join us for an engaging workshop that will unite leading researchers and influential policymakers to explore the dynamic landscape around women and jobs, from labor force participation, skills development, to entrepreneurship and resilient rural livelihoods in Africa. This event promises to be a vibrant forum for discussing the latest challenges, groundbreaking evidence, and innovative solutions that are shaping the future of women's roles in the African economy to foster economic development.

 

Themes

We invite you to submit empirical papers that delve into the critical barriers to – as well as the opportunities to promote - women's economic participation. Priority will be given to research that studies policy solutions tailored to the unique economic landscapes of Africa to spur economic growth. Topics of interest include jobs for women as related to (but are not limited to):

  • Innovations to facilitate labor force participation 
  • Education and skills development towards better job outcomes 
  • Gaps in wages between men and women, and occupational segregation
  • How social norms affect jobs
  • Care economy and care work
  • Legal and policy frameworks to facilitate productive work
  • The impact of digitization and AI on employment outcomes
  • Livelihoods and resilience in agriculture
  • Access to markets for SME entrepreneurs

 

Funding

There is scope for limited funding for selected participants, with priority given to early-career researchers to cover all or some of the costs of attending, as funding permits.

 

Publication Opportunity

Selected papers from the workshop will be invited to submit to a special issue of the Journal of African Economies on Women and Jobs in Africa. All submissions will undergo the Journal of African Economies’ peer-review process. Inclusion in this special issue is not guaranteed and is contingent upon successful review.

 

See Call for Proposals PDF here.

Submission deadline: June 30, 2025 

Workshop dates: November 11-12, 2025

Location: Accra, Ghana

Questions? Contact us

Women and Jobs in Africa Policy Research Workshop

Day 1 - Tuesday, November 11, 2025

9:30 – 9:40 Opening Remarks – Robert Taliercio, World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, President and CEO of the African Center for Economic Transformation

 

9:40 – 11:00  Paper session 1: Labor supply (Chair, Kathleen Beegle, World Bank)

  • “Gender Wage Gaps and Occupational Segregation in the African Labour Market: Evaluating the Impact of Policy Interventions On Women’s Economic Empowerment” Joburg Mahuyu | Midlands State University  (Presentation)
  • “Promoting Women’s Labor Force Participation Through Legal Reforms in Benin” Nassibou Bassongui | African Center for Higher Studies in Management (Presentation)
  • “Minimum Wage, Informality, and Gender Gaps: Evidence from Morocco“ Louise Paul-Delvaux | World Bank

 

11:30 – 12:30 Keynote speaker: Kate Orkin, Associate Professor in Economics and Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford (Presentation)

 

13:45 – 15:05 Paper session 2: Skills (Chair, Clara Delavallade, World Bank)

 

15:30 – 16:50 Paper session 3: Digital (Chair, Monica Lambon-Quayefio, University of Ghana)

 

Day 2 - Wednesday, November 12, 2025

9:00 – 10:20 Paper session 4: Agriculture (Chair, Nkechi Owoo, University of Ghana)

  • “Impact of Financial Services and Improved Seed Technologies on Resilience of Women Farmers in Nigeria: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial” Adeola Olarewaju| University of Illorin
  • “Droughts, Agricultural Shocks, and Women’s Livelihood Resilience in Rural Tanzania: Evidence from NSP Panel Data” Innocensia John | University of Dar es Salaam (Presentation)
  • “The Knowing-Doing Gap in Agriculture: Giving Female Farmers a Big Push” Benjamin Scharweit| Doorways (Presentation)

 

10:50 – 12:10 Paper session 5: Time use (Chair, Theophiline Bose-Duker, ACET)

  • “The Impact of Cash-Plus Programmes on Women’s Economic Participation and Time Use: Evidence from Burkina Faso and Mali” | Kaku Attah Damoah | UNICEF (Presentation)
  • “The Dynamic Impact of Early Marriage on Time Use: Evidence from Staggered DiD” Meseret Birhane Abebe | Addis Ababa University (Presentation)
  • “Women’s Off-Farm Employment Improves Household Nutrition in Malawi” Chrispinus Mutsami| University of Bonn

 

13:30 – 14:50 Paper session 6: Connectivity (Chair, Léa Rouanet)

  • “Information Frictions and Gender Inequality in Online Labor Markets“ | Belinda Archibong | Johns Hopkins University
  • “Connection Leapfrog: The Gendered Impact of 2G Mobile Networks on Women’s Labor Markets in Africa” Marta Bernardi | Dresden University of Technology (Presentation)
  • “Female Entrepreneurship and Professional Networks” Monica Lambon-Quayefio | University of Ghana

 

15:20 – 16:50 Policy Discussion Roundtable: A Focus on Entrepreneurship

Moderator: Markus Goldstein, Vice President and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

16:50 – 17:00 Closing Remarks — Michael O’Sullivan, World Bank Africa Gender Innovation Lab

The submission period is now closed. We are no longer accepting submissions.

We invite email submissions of extended abstracts of a maximum of two (2) pages that will include the objectives, the research question, a brief description of the methodology, preliminary findings, and clearly articulated policy relevance of the research.

Submission process:

  • Submissions should be a single attachment of the extended abstract in .doc, .docx or .pdf file formats.
  • The body of the email should clearly indicate the names of the authors and have the contact information of one corresponding author.
  • Early-career researchers are encouraged to apply.
  • One submission per researcher: A researcher can be an author/co-author on no more than one submission.

Key Dates:

  • Deadline for submission: June 30, 2025
  • Notification of selection and funding awards: July 31, 2025
  • Deadline to accept: August 18, 2025
  • Deadline for full paper submission by selected presenters: October 20, 2025
  • Program posted on the workshop’s website: November 3, 2025

Email submission to: africawomenjobs@worldbank.org

Scientific Committee:

Anukriti (World Bank), Adamnesh A. Bogale (African Center for Economic Transformation), Theophiline Bose-Duker (African Center for Economic Transformation), Andrew Brudevold-Newman (World Bank), Clara Delavallade (World Bank), Monica Lambon-Quayefio (University of Ghana), Nkechi Owoo (University of Ghana), Michael O’Sullivan (World Bank).