ABSTRACT
Country case studies throughout SSA point to patterns of disadvantage women face, compared with men, in accessing the basic assets and resources needed to contribute to SSA’s growth potential. The constraints facing females in Africa have impacted on the region’s economic development in terms of missed opportunities for women to contribute to and benefit from the development process. As a recent World Bank study has argued, exclusion from economic opportunities by gender, whether one observes females or males at a disadvantage, has significant efficiency (growth) costs, beyond the obvious social (equity) costs.3
