Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T15:41:30.224Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
Series:   Elements in the Economics of Emerging Markets

The Paradox of Gender Equality and Economic Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Role of Land Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2023

Evelyn F. Wamboye
Evelyn F. Wamboye
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University

Summary

This Element provides an in-depth analysis of the role of women's ownership of and access to land in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in determining gender equality and women's economic and social outcomes and gives suggestions to inform effective gender-sensitive land policies. Using cross-sectional regression analysis, we find that ownership of land by women positively contributes to women's absolute employment. Conversely, results from pairwise correlation show that a lack of ownership of land by women is highly correlated with increased women's unemployment. Despite these findings, the proportion of women who own land in SSA is lower than that of men. Moreover, women usually acquire land through either purchase from the market system or marriage, and even then their rights of ownership are usually very limited and precarious compared to the rights of men.
Get access

Keywords

land inheritanceland ownershipland accessgender equalitysub-Saharan Africa
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in the Economics of Emerging Markets
Online ISBN: 9781009371872
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 05 October 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acemoglu, D., and Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. New York: Crown Publishing.Google Scholar
Aid, Action. (2016). Charter of Demands: Actualizing Women’s Land Rights in Africa. Arusha: Kilimanjaro Initiative. https://actionaid.org/publications/2017/charter-demands-actualizing-womens-land-rights-africa.Google Scholar
AfDB (African Development Bank). (2018). Africa Economic Outlook 2018. Abidjan: African Development Bank Group. www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/African_Economic_Outlook_2018_-_EN.pdf.Google Scholar
Afridi, F. (2010). “Women’s Empowerment and the Goal of Parity between the Sexes in Schooling in India.” Population Studies, 64(2): 131–145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Agarwal, B. (1994). A Field of One’s Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Agarwal, B. (1997). “‘Bargaining’ and Gender Relations: Within and beyond the Household.” Feminist Economics, 3(1): 1–51.Google Scholar
Agarwal, B. (2003). “Gender and Land Rights Revisited: Exploring New Prospects via the State, Family and Market.” Journal of Agrarian Change, 3(1–2): 184–224.Google Scholar
Aldasher, G., Chaara, I., Platteau, J.-P., and Wakhaj, Z. (2012). “Using the Law to Change the Custom.” Journal of Development Economics, 97: 182–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alden Wily, L. (2001). “Reconstructing the African Commons.” Africa Today, 48(1): 77–99.Google Scholar
Aliber, M. and Walker, C. (2004). The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Land Rights: Case Studies from Kenya. Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council.Google Scholar
Allendorf, K. (2007). “Do Women’s Land Rights Promote Empowerment and Child Health in Nepal?” World Development, 35(11): 1975–1988.Google Scholar
Arekapudi, N. and Almodóvar-Reteguis, N. L. (2020). “Women’s Property Rights Are the Key to Economic Development.” World Bank Blogs, February 24. https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/womens-property-rights-are-key-economic-development.Google Scholar
AU (African Union). (2017). AU Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges: A Review of Progress Made, October. https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/33005-doc-draft_report_to_au_stc_progress_in_implementing_the_au_declaration_on_land_issues_and_challenges_in_africa_2017_revised_with_guideline.pdf.Google Scholar
AUC (African Union Commission). (2011). Promoting Employment for Social Cohesion and Inclusive Growth. Addis Ababa: AUC.Google Scholar
AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium. (2010). Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa. Addis Ababa: African Union, African Development Bank, and Economic Commission for Africa. www.un.org/en/land-natural-resources-conflict/pdfs/35-EN-%20Land%20Policy%20Report_ENG%20181010pdf.pdf.Google Scholar
AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium. (2011). Land Policy in Africa: A Framework to Strengthen Land Rights, Enhance Productivity and Secure Livelihoods. Addis Ababa: African Union, African Development Bank, and Economic Commission for Africa.Google Scholar
Benjamin, N. and Mbaye, A. (2012). The Informal Sector in Francophone Africa. Paris and Washington, DC: Agence Française de Dévelopment and The World Bank.Google Scholar
Benschop, M. (2002). Rights and Reality: Are Women’s Equal Rights to Land, Housing and Property Implemented in East Africa? Nairobi: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements.Google Scholar
Berge, E., Kambewa, D., Munthali, A., and Wiig, H. (2014). “Lineage and Land Reforms in Malawi: Do Matrilineal and Patrilineal Landholding Systems Represent a Problem for Land Reforms in Malawi.” Land Use Policy, 41: 61–69.Google Scholar
Bhatla, N., Chakraborty, S., and Duvvury, N. (2006). Property Ownership and Inheritance Rights of Women As Social Protection from Domestic Violence: Cross-Site Analysis. Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women. www.icrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Property-Ownership-and-Inheritance-Rights-of-Women-for-Social-Protection-The-South-Asia-Experience.pdf.Google Scholar
Bird, K. (2007). “The Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty: An Overview.” Chronic Poverty Research Centre Working Paper No. 99. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1629262.Google Scholar
Bird, K. and Espey, J. (2010). “Power, Patriarchy and Land: Examining Women’s Land Rights in Uganda and Rwanda. In Chant, S. (ed.), International Handbook on Gender and Poverty: Concepts, Research, Policy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 360–366.Google Scholar
Bose, N. and Das, S. (2017). “Women’s Inheritance Rights, Household Allocation, and Gender Bias.” American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings, 107(5): 150–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boudet, A. M., Buitrago, P., Leroy de la Briere, B., et al. (2018). “Gender Differences in Poverty and Household Composition through the Life-cycle.” World Bank Group Policy Research Working Paper No. 8360.Google Scholar
Budlender, D. (2008). “The Statistical Evidence on Care and Non-care Work across Six Countries.” United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) Gender Programme Paper No. 4.Google Scholar
Budlender, D. and Alma, E. (2011). Women and Land: Securing Rights for Better Lives. Ottawa, ON: International Development Research Centre.Google Scholar
Carney, J. A. (1998). “Women’s Land Rights in Gambian Irrigated Rice Schemes: Constraints and Opportunities. Agriculture and Human Values, 15: 325–336.Google Scholar
Chapoto, A., Jayne, T., and Mason, N. (2007). “Security of Widows’ Access to Land in the Era of HIV/AIDS: Panel Survey Evidence from Zambia.” Food Security Research Project Working Paper No. 19.Google Scholar
Claassens, A. and Ngubane, S. (2008). “Women, Land and Power: The Impact of the Communal Land Rights Act.” In Claassens, A. and Cousins, B. (eds.), Land, Power and Custom: Controversies Generated by South Africa’s Communal Land Rights Act. Cape Town: UCT Press, 154–183.Google Scholar
Cooper, E. (2012). “Women and Inheritance in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Can Change?” Development Policy Review, 30(5): 641–657.Google Scholar
Cooper, E. and Bird, K. (2012). “Inheritance: A Gendered and Intergenerational Dimension of Poverty.” Development Policy Review, 30(5): 527–541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuberes, D. and Teignier, M. (2016). “Aggregate Effects of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate.” Journal of Human Capital, 10(1): 1–32.Google Scholar
Dancer, H. (2017). “An Equal Right to Inherit? Women’s Land Rights, Customary Law and Constitutional Reform in Tanzania.” Social and Legal Studies, 26(3): 291–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deere, C. D. (2017). “Women’s Land Rights, Rural Social Movements, and the State in the 21st-Century Latin American Agrarian Reforms.” Journal of Agrarian Change, 17(2): 258–278.Google Scholar
Deere, C. D. and Doss, C. R. (2006). “Gender and the Distribution of Wealth in Developing Countries.” United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) Research Paper No. 2006/115.Google Scholar
Deere, C. D. and León, M. (2009). Empowering Women: Land and Property Rights in Latin America. Pittsburg, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Deere, C. D., Oduro, A. D., Swaminathan, H., and Doss, C. (2013). “Property Rights and the Gender Distribution of Wealth in Ecuador, Ghana and India.” The Journal of Economic Inequality, 11: 249–265.Google Scholar
DESA (Department of Economic and Social Affairs). (2022). “LDCs at a Glance.” United Nations DESA (web page). www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html.Google Scholar
Djurfeldt, A. A. (2020). “Gendered Land Rights, Legal Reform and Social Norms in the Context of Land Fragmentation: A Review of the Literature for Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.” Land Use Policy, 90(1): 1–10.Google Scholar
Dolcerocca, A. (2022). “State Property vs. Customary Ownership: A Comparative Framework in West Africa.” The Journal of Peasant Studies, 49(5): 1064–1078. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2021.1907353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doss, C. R. (2006). “The Effects of Intrahousehold Property Ownership on Expenditure Patterns in Ghana.” Journal of African Economies, 15(1): 149–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doss, C., Deere, C. D., Oduro, A. D., et al. (2011). The Gender Asset and Wealth Gaps: Evidence from Ecuador, Ghana, and Karnataka, India. Bangalore: Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.Google Scholar
Doss, C., Truong, M., Nabanoga, G., and Namaalwa, J. (2012). “Women, Marriage and Asset Inheritance in Uganda.” Development Policy Review, 30(5): 597–616.Google Scholar
Duflo, E. (2003). “Grandmothers and Granddaughters: Old-Age Pensions and Intrahousehold Allocation in South Africa.” The World Bank Economic Review, 17(1): 1–25.Google Scholar
ECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa). (2015). Economic Report on Africa: Harnessing the Potential of the Informal Sector for Inclusive Growth in Africa. Addis Ababa: ECA. www.un.org/en/ecosoc/integration/2015/pdf/eca.pdf.Google Scholar
Ellis, A., Blackden, M., Cutura, J., MacCulloch, F., and Seebens, H. (2007). Gender and Economic Growth in Tanzania: Creating Opportunities for Women. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Ellis, A., Manuel, C., and Blackden, C. M. (2006). Gender and Economic Growth in Uganda: Unleashing the Power of Women. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Ellis, F. and Mdoe, N. (2003). “Livelihoods and Rural Poverty Reduction in Tanzania.” World Development, 31(8): 1367–1384.Google Scholar
Errico, S. (2021). “Women’s Right to Land between Collective and Individual Dimensions.” Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5: 690321.Google Scholar
Evans, R. (2015). “HIV-Related Stigma, Asset Inheritance and Chronic Poverty: Vulnerability and Resilience of Widows and Caregiving Children and Youth in Tanzania and Uganda.” Progress in Development Studies 15(4): 326–342.Google Scholar
Evans, R. (2016). “Gendered Struggles Over Land: Shifting Inheritance Practices among the Serer in Rural Senegal.” Gender, Place & Culture, 23(9): 1360–1375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, R., Mariwah, S., and Barima Antwi, K. (2015). “Struggles over Family Land? Tree Crops, Land and Labour in Ghana’s Brong-Ahafo Region.” Geoforum 67: 24–35.Google Scholar
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). (2008). Land Reform: Land Settlement and Cooperatives. Rome: FAO. www.fao.org/3/i0470t/i0470t.pdf.Google Scholar
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). (2011). The State of Food and Agriculture 2010–2011. Women in Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Development. Rome: FAO. www.fao.org/3/i2050e/i2050e.pdf.Google Scholar
Federici, S. (2011). “Women, Land Struggles, and the Reconstruction of the Commons.” Journal of Labor and Society, 14(1): 41–56.Google Scholar
Ferrant, G. and Kolev, A. (2016). “Does Gender Discrimination in Social Institutions Matter for Long-Term Growth? Cross-Country Evidence.” Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Centre Working Paper No. 330.Google Scholar
Ferrara, E. La and Milazzo, A. (2017). “Customary Norms, Inheritance, and Human Capital: Evidence from a Reform of the Matrilineal System in Ghana.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9(4): 166–185.Google Scholar
Fonjong, L., Fombe, L., and Sama-Lang, I. (2013). “The Paradox of Gender Discrimination in Land Ownership and Women’s Contribution to Poverty Reduction in Anglophone Cameroon.” GeoJournal, 78(3): 575–589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genicot, G. and Hernandez-de-Benito, M. (2022). “Women’s Land Rights and Village Institutions in Tanzania.” World Development, 153: 105811.Google Scholar
Global Fund for Women. (2018). “Top Ten Moments for Women’s Rights in 2018,” December 13 (web page). www.globalfundforwomen.org/top-ten-moments-womens-rights-2018/.Google Scholar
GoK (Government of Kenya). (2006). Initial Report of States Parties to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. U.N. Doc. E/C.12/KEN/1. September 7.Google Scholar
Government of Cameroon. (1996). Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon. Yaounde: National Printing Press.Google Scholar
Grynberg, R. (2013). “Some Like Them Rough: The Future of Diamond Beneficiation in Botswana.” European Centre for Development Policy Management Discussion Paper No. 142.Google Scholar
Heintz, J. (2006). “Globalization, Economic Policy and Employment: Poverty and Gender Implications.” ILO Employment Strategy Paper No. 2006/3.Google Scholar
Hill, C. (2011). “Enabling Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment: Institutions, Opportunities, and Participation.” Background Paper for Expert Group Meeting, Accra, September 20–23.Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch. (2003). Double Standards: Women’s Property Rights Violations in Kenya. New York: Human Rights Watch.Google Scholar
Hunt, J. and Kasynathan, N. (2001). “Pathways to Empowerment? Reflections on Microfinance and Transformation in Gender Relations in South Asia.” Gender & Development, 9(1): 42–52.Google Scholar
ILO (International Labour Organization). (2019). World Employment Social Outlook – Trends 2019. Geneva: ILO.www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/weso/2019/lang--en/index.htm.Google Scholar
Izumi, K. (2007). “Gender-Based Violence and Property Grabbing in Africa: A Denial of Women’s Liberty and Security.”Gender and Development, 15(1): 11–23.Google Scholar
Jacobs, K. and Kes, A. (2015). “The Ambiguity of Joint Asset Ownership: Customary Tales from Uganda and South Africa.” Feminist Economics, 21(3): 23–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joireman, S. F. (2007). “Enforcing New Property Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Ugandan Constitution and the 1998 Land Act.” Comparative Politics, 39(4): 463–480.Google Scholar
Joireman, S. F. (2008). “The Mystery of Capital Formation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Women, Property Rights and Customary Law.” World Development, 36(7): 1233–1246.Google Scholar
Jones, A. S. and Frick, K. D. (2010). “The Roles of Women’s Health and Education in Family and Societal Health’. Women’s Health Issues, 20(4): 231–233.Google Scholar
Jütting, J. and Morrisson, C. (2005). Changing Social Institutions to Improve the Status of Women in Developing Countries. Policy Brief 27. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).Google Scholar
Kabeer, N. (2001). “Conflicts Over Credit: Re-evaluating the Empowerment Potential of Loans to Women in Rural Bangladesh.” World Development, 29(1): 63–84.Google Scholar
Kalabamu, F. (1998). “Effects of Gendered Land Rights on Urban Housing by Women in Botswana.” Paper presented at the Proceedings of the International Conference on Land Tenure in the Developing World with a Focus on Southern Africa. University of Cape Town, Cape Town, January.Google Scholar
Kalabamu, F. (2006). “Patriarchy and Women Land Rights in Botswana.” Land Use Policy, 23(3): 237–246.Google Scholar
Katz, E. and Chamorro, J. S. (2003). “Gender, Land Rights, and the Household Economy in Rural Nicaragua and Honduras.” Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Economics Association, Puebla, Mexico, October.Google Scholar
Kelkar, G. (2014). “The Fog of Entitlement: Women’s Inheritance and Land Rights.” Economic and Political Weekly, 49(33): 51–58.Google Scholar
Kimani, M. (2012). “Women Struggle to Secure Land Rights: Hard Fight for Access and Decision-Making Power.” Africa Renewal [UN Magazine]. www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/weso/2019/lang--en/index.htm.Google Scholar
Kumar, N., Quisumbing, A. R. (2012). “‘Beyond Death Do Us Part’: The Long-Term Implications of Divorce Perceptions on Women’s Well-Being and Child Schooling in Rural Ethiopia.” World Development, 40(12): 2478–2489.Google Scholar
Lambert, S., Ravallion, M., and van de walle, D. (2014). “Intergenerational Mobility and Interpersonal Inequality in an African Economy.” Journal of Development Economics, 110: 327–344.Google Scholar
Lastarria-Cornhiel, S. (1997). “Impact of Privatization on Gender and Property Rights in Africa.” World Development, 25(8): 1317–1333.Google Scholar
Lemke, S. and Claeys, P. (2020). “Absent Voices: Women and Youth in Communal Land Governance: Reflections on Methods and Process from Exploratory Research in West and East Africa.” Land, 9(266). https://doi.org/10.3390/Land9080266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lentz, C. (2007). “Land and the Politics of Belonging in Africa.” In Chabal, P., Engel, U., and de Haan, L. (eds.), African Alternatives. Leiden: Brill, 37–54.Google Scholar
MacInnes, J. (1998). The End of Masculinity. Buckingham: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Massay, G. (2020). “The Struggles for Land Rights by Rural Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Tanzania.” African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 11(2): 271–283.Google Scholar
McAuslan, P. (2013). Land Law Reform in Eastern Africa: Traditional or Transformative? A Critical Review of 50 Years of Land Law Reform in Eastern Africa 1961–2011. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Meinzen-Dick, R. S. and Pradhan, R. (2002). “Legal Pluralism and Dynamic Property Rights.” International Food Policy Research Institute CAPRi Working Papers No. 22.Google Scholar
Meinzen-Dick, R. S., Quisumbing, A., Doss, C., and Theis, S. (2019). “Women’s Land Rights As a Pathway to Poverty Reduction: Framework and Review of Available Evidence.” Agricultural Systems, 172: 72–82.Google Scholar
Molapo, E. (1994). “Women and Patriarchy in Lesotho: A Deconstructive Study.” Doctoral thesis, University of Free State Bloemfontein. https://scholar.ufs.ac.za/bitstream/handle/11660/7608/MolapoELM.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.Google Scholar
Mujere, J. (2014). “Land, Gender and Inheritance Disputes among the Basotho in the Dewure Purchase Areas, Colonial Zimbabwe.” South African Historical Journal, 66(4): 699–716.Google Scholar
Nandasen, N. (2012). “Rural Women’s Access to Land in Sub-Saharan Africa and Implications for Meeting the Millennium Development Goals.” Agenda, 26(1): 41–53.Google Scholar
Ngwa, N. E. (2012). “Introduction to Land and Rural Women in Cameroon.” In Fonjong, L. N. (ed.), Issues on Women’s Land Rights in Cameroon. Oxford: African Books Collective. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2019/v22i0a4907.Google Scholar
Njieassam, E. E. (2019). “Gender Inequality and Land Rights: The Situation of Indigenous Women in Cameroon.”Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 22: 1–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2019/v22i0a4907.Google Scholar
Odeny, M. (2013). “Improving Access to Land and Strengthening Women’s Land Rights in Africa.” Paper presented at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, May 2017; Addis Ababa. Accessed from https://hdl.handle.net/10855/24140 .Google Scholar
Odgaard, R. (2002). “Scrambling for Land in Tanzania: Processes of Formalisation and Legitimisation of Land Rights.” The European Journal of Development Research, 14(2): 71–88.Google Scholar
Peterman, A. (2012). “Widowhood and Asset Inheritance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical Evidence from 15 Countries.” Development Policy Review, 30(5): 543–571.Google Scholar
Quisumbing, A. R. and Maluccio, J. A. “Resources at Marriage and Intrahousehold Allocation: Evidence from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and South Africa.” Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 65(3): 283–327.Google Scholar
Rabenhorst, C. S. (2011). Gender and Property Rights: A Critical Issue in Urban Economic Development. New York: The International Housing Coalition and the Urban Institute. www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/27491/412387-Gender-and-Property-Rights.PDF.Google Scholar
Rose, L. (2006). Children’s Property and Inheritance Rights and their Livelihoods: The Context of HIV and AIDS in Southern and East Africa. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.Google Scholar
Rugadya, M. (2010). Women’s Land Rights in Uganda: Status of Implementation of Policy and Law on Women’s Land Rights for ECA, ACGS Addis Ababa. 2010. Working Paper, Academia.edu. Accessed from https://www.academia.edu/43052736/Status_of_Implementation _of_Policy_and_Law_on_Womens_Land_Rights_for_ECA_ACGS_Addis_AbabaGoogle Scholar
Rugadya, M., Nsamba, E., Lule, R. et al. (2008). Final Report of the Integrated Study on Land and Family Justice. Kampala: Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.Google Scholar
Rugadya, M., Obaiko, E., and Kamusiime, H. (2004). Gender and the Land Reform Process in Uganda: Assessing Gains and Losses for Women in Uganda. Land Research Series No. 2. Kampala: Associates for Development.Google Scholar
Saiget, M. (2016). “(De-)Politicising Women’s Collective Action: International Actors and Land Inheritance in Post-war Burundi.” Review of African Political Economy, 43(149): 365–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, F., Fletschner, D., and Daconto, G. (2014). “Enhancing Inclusiveness of Rwanda’s Land Tenure Regularization Program: Insights from Early Stages of its Implementation.” World Development, 62: 30–41.Google Scholar
Santpoort, R., Steel, G., Mkandawire, A. et al. (2021). “The Land Is Ours: Bottom-Up Strategies to Secure Rural Women’s Access, Control and Rights to Land in Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal and Malawi.” Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.697314.Google Scholar
Sen, A. (1999). Development As Freedom. New York: Anchor Books.Google Scholar
Slavchevska, V., Doss, C. R., de la O Campos, A. P, and Brunelli, C. (2021). “Beyond Ownership: Women’s and Men’s Land Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Oxford Development Studies, 49(1): 2–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600818.2020.1818714.Google Scholar
Strickland, R. (2004). To Have and To Hold: Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women.Google Scholar
Swaminathan, H., Walker, C., and Rugadya, M. A. (eds). (2008). Women’s Property Rights, HIV and AIDS and Domestic Violence: Research Findings from Two Districts in South Africa and Uganda. Cape Town: HSRC Press.Google Scholar
Torkelsson, Å. and Tassew, B. (2008). “Quantifying Women’s and Men’s Rural Resource Portfolios: Empirical Evidence from Western Shoa in Ethiopia.” European Journal of Development Research, 20: 462–481.Google Scholar
Tripp, A. (2004). “Women’s Movements, Customary Law, and Land Rights in Africa: The Case of Uganda.” African Studies Quarterly, 7(4): 1–19.Google Scholar
UN (United Nations). (2004). Property and Inheritance Rights and HIV/AIDS: Women and Girls in Southern Africa. New York: UN Secretary General’s Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.Google Scholar
UN (United Nations). (2010). “‘Keeping the promise’: United to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.” Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly 65th Session, 19 October.Google Scholar
UN (United Nations). (2015). The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics. New York: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/downloads/worldswomen2015_report.pdf.Google Scholar
UN (United Nations). (2018). “LDCs at a glance” (web page). UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html.Google Scholar
UN-Habitat. (2006). Progress Report on Removing Discrimination Against Women in Respect of Property and Inheritance Rights. Nairobi: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements.Google Scholar
UN Millennium Project. (2005). Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. Report by the Task Force on Education and Gender Equality. New York: UN Millennium Project.Google Scholar
UN Women. (2011). “UN Women awards nearly $1.5 million in small grants towards realizing women’s property and inheritance rights in the context of HIV/AIDS.” UN Women News (web page), March 14. www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2011/3/un-women-awards-nearly-1-5-million-in-small-grants-towards-realizing-women-s-property-and-inheritan.Google Scholar
UN Women. (2018). “Securing Rural Women’s Access to Land in Cameroon.” UN Women Africa News, October 22. https://africa.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/stories/2018/10/access-to-land.Google Scholar
UN Women. (2022). “Poverty deepens for women and girls, according to latest projections.” Women Count Data Hub (web page), February 1. https://data.unwomen.org/features/poverty-deepens-women-and-girls-according-latest-projections.Google Scholar
Walker, C. (2005). “Women, Gender Policy and Land Reform in South Africa.” Politikon, 32(2): 297–315.Google Scholar
Wamboye, E. F., Adekola, A., and Sergi, B, S. (2015a). “Sectoral Shifts and Women’s Employment: A Study of Thirty-Nine Least Developed Countries’. Journal of Economic Issues, 49(4): 1045–1076.Google Scholar
Wamboye, E. F., Adekola, A., and Sergi, B, S. (2015b). “Sectoral Effects of Female Absolute and Relative Employment in Selected Least Developed Countries.” Gender, Technology and Development, 19(1): 1–42.Google Scholar
Wamboye, E. F. and Seguino, S. (2015). “Gender Effects of Trade Openness in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Feminist Economics, 21(3): 82–113.Google Scholar
Wanyeki, L. M. (2012). “African Women’s Long Walk to Freedom.” Africa Renewal. www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/special-edition-women-2012/african-women%E2%80%99s-long-walk-freedom.Google Scholar
WEF (World Economic Forum). (2016). The Global Gender Gap Report 2016. Geneva: World Economic Forum. www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR16/WEF_Global_Gender_Gap_Report_2016.pdf.Google Scholar
WEF (World Economic Forum). (2017). The Global Gender Gap Report 2017. Geneva: World Economic Forum. www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2017.pdf.Google Scholar
WEF (World Economic Forum). (2018). The Global Gender Gap Report 2016. Geneva: World Economic Forum. www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2018.pdf.Google Scholar
Wekwete, N. N. (2013). “Gender and Economic Empowerment in Africa: Evidence and Policy.” Journal of African Economies, 23 (AERC Suppl. 1): i87–i127.Google Scholar
Whitehead, A. and Tsikata, D. (2003). “Policy Discourses on Women’s Land Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Implications of the Return to the Customary.” Journal of Agrarian Change, 3(1–2): 67–112.Google Scholar
World Bank (2004). Integrating Gender into HIV/AIDS Programs: An Operational Guide. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. (2012). World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Yeboah, E. (2014). “Women’s Land Rights and Africa’s Development Conundrum: Which Way Forward.” International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) (blog), December 12. www.iied.org/womens-land-rights-africas-development-conundrum-which-way-forward.Google Scholar
Young, D. (2010). “The Jurisprudence of Vulnerability: Property Rights, Domestic Violence and HIV/AIDS Among Women in Uganda.” International Review of Constitutionalism, 9(2): 327–360.Google Scholar

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

The Paradox of Gender Equality and Economic Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Available formats
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

The Paradox of Gender Equality and Economic Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Available formats
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

The Paradox of Gender Equality and Economic Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Available formats
×