Omotor and Olele, ACRIA 4 Abidjan 2013 A Comment on: Gender Employment, Private Sector Development and Poverty Reduction in ECOWAS Countries Omotor and Olele, ACRIA 4 Abidjan 2013

A few points… Crucial topic: ECOWAS/Africa is its people Conceptual clarification (Inclusive development)? Stronger case for female participation (see p.10)?

Another expert view “In terms of sustainability, women are more entrepreneurial in the continent than the men. But the way the system has been developed is that…for instance… If you go to the villages…it is the women that go to the farm, it is the women that start businesses that succeed, but because of the way societies are kind of operating within these rural areas you get the men being dominant. And if you are dominant and not productive, then you will get a situation where, I know a situation where women are not allowed to get loans, unless they bring their husbands along. So in an environment like that, how can you expect there to be sustainable development?...[in most of the African countries] women are treated as second class citizens… You show me a country where women are treated as second class citizens and the country has developed” (Professor and President of a Development Institution).

Another expert view “Women are doing most of the work, make their work more productive. For example in Sierra Leone women are doing fruit processing, provide these women with the technology to preserve the fruits. Every part of the population has a role to play, and you need a strategy for inclusive development” (Professor, Country Ambassador).