2019 Annual trends and outlook report: Gender equality in rural Africa: From commitments to outcomes

The Malabo Declaration of 2014 outlines seven commitments to enhance livelihoods through inclusive agricultural growth. Gender-sensitive policy and programming have an integral role to play in fostering inclusive agricultural growth to meet these commitments. Gender differences arise from the socially
determined relationships between men and women, and the roles that men and women play in society show similarities and differences across classes and societies. Ending hunger, reducing poverty, boosting intra-African trade, and increasing
resilience to climate and other risks will require examining how gender difference affect our ability to achieve these outcomes. This means paying attention to both women and men, and not just to women alone. Additionally, ensuring accountability for reaching and maintaining the goals outlined in the Malabo Declaration will
require data systems that examine gendered gaps in processes and outcomes.The 2019 Annual Trends and Outlook Report applies a gender lens to several
issues that must be addressed to fully achieve the goals outlined by the Malabo Declaration. It uses a gender, agriculture, and assets framework that examines
intersections between gender and (1) the context and institutions within which rural people operate; (2) the natural resources that they depend on for agriculture, sources of vulnerability, and resilience to shocks; (3) assets; and (4) livelihood strategies. The framework recognizes that each component is gendered: men and women experience their context in different ways and the context impacts them differently; access to, ownership, and control over resources and assets can be individual or joint between men and women; and men and women use these resources
to pursue different and sometimes joint livelihood opportunities.