Using Gender Equality to Tackle Youth Unemployment in Africa

Youth unemployment continues to impede Africa from achieving the 2030 Agenda's sustainable development goal. According to the ILO's 2019 World Employment and social outlook, trends for Youth report, Africa has the most significant proportion of unemployed youth worldwide. Although 10–12 million young people enter the labour force across the continent each year, only three million jobs are generated. As a result, approximately 8 out of every 10 African youths entering the labour force face the prospect of long-term unemployment. This chapter argues that addressing youth unemployment in Africa and achieving SDG 8 depends on countries investing in gender equality (SDG 4) because there are many interconnected factors that make female youth more likely to be unemployed. The chapter uses Afrobarometer survey data of 36 African countries to demonstrate why leveraging gender equality (SDG 4) is critical for accomplishing SDG goal 8.6 (reducing youth unemployment) throughout the action decade.