In a powerful parallel session held alongside the 69th UN Commission on the Status of Women, key thought leaders called on stakeholders to position African-led research as the driving force for accelerating gender equality and social inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa.
The event, titled “Accelerating Agenda 2030: Unlocking Gender-Responsive and Innovative Solutions in Africa Through Research,” organised by The Blooming Mum, The Winford Centre for Children and Women, and the Open University UK, united stakeholders from academia, policy, and grassroots movements to deliberate on
Africa’s unique challenges and opportunities.
Founder of The Blooming Mum, and The Winford Centre for Children and Women, Dr Basirat Razaq-Shuaib in her opening address, highlighted critical data gaps and systemic barriers that continue to stifle gender equality progress. Quoting the Nigerian National Beijing +30 review, she said, “Decisions are too often made based on anecdotal evidence, overlooking the transformative potential of inclusive and rigorous research.”
Dr Razaq-Shuaib also noted findings by Education Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) that only about 30 percent of researchers in sub-Saharan Africa are women, highlighting the underrepresentation of women in research and higher education. She critiqued the influence of foreign donor agendas, Eurocentric methodologies and the systemic invisibility of African research in global decision-making processes. Dr Razaq-Shuaib challenged participants to reposition inclusive, collaborative, empirical research as a catalyst for accelerating gender equality, urging for methodologies and sustainable solutions grounded in local realities.
Building on this in her keynote address, Executive Director of the Policy Innovation Centre, Dr Osasuyi Dirisu, underscored the need for intentionality in research adopting gender-responsive approaches. She stressed the importance of embedding simple innovation in research design, ensuring gender-balanced teams, projecting gender-responsive impacts using data, and adopting scalable solutions. “Insights give us power—they show what works, what doesn’t, and how we can shape inclusive policies and services,” she said, framing research as a tool for empowerment and transformation.
The panel discussion, moderated by Laud Ebenezer Freeman, highlighted the disconnect between global policy aspirations and grassroots realities. Dr Jane Doka of the Open University, UK noted that this gap undermines the effectiveness of policies designed to empower women and girls. She advocated for local ownership of research to ensure meaningful impact. Her Worship Caroline Kabugho, Chief Magistrate in the Judiciary of Uganda, echoed this sentiment, calling for increased funding for empirical research and the inclusion of male allies in gender equity efforts.
In assessing if we are simply trumpeting little gains in the achievement of gender equality, Ms Inimfon Etuk, founder, She Forum Africa posed a poignant question, “What is the true value of life for the African woman today?” Reflecting on the journey so far, she celebrated the courage and resilience of African women but stressed the need for strategic engagement and the inclusion of lived experiences driven research in policymaking. “Business as usual won’t deliver Agenda 2030,” she warned.
To avoid erasing local contexts in decision-making, Dr Laraib Niaz, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, emphasised the need to amplify African voices in global research. She also shared examples of successful participatory case studies in sub-Saharan Africa that empowered young women as agents of change through mentoring and vocational training.
While highlighting the widening gender financing gap, especially for women in rural and peri-urban areas, Ms Tolulope Babajide, Gender Network Manager at FSD Africa, cautioned against researching in silos. She noted research publications that are unused because they have not been disseminated in accessible ways for policy makers and practitioners. Ms Babajide advocated for closer collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and private sector actors from the outset to ensure insights translate into solutions that benefit underserved women.
Concluding the discussions, Dr Margaret Ebubedike, researcher at the Open University UK, advocated for disrupting traditional research methodologies by amplifying community voices. She illustrated this with her work in the Lake Chad region, where participatory approaches positioning women and girls as co-creators of knowledge, led to policy action addressing trauma and psychosocial support for young girls in conflict zones. This exemplified how decolonising research can directly inform impactful gender policies, drive interventions and empower communities to shape their futures.
In closing, the panel called for an improved attitude to inclusive, collaborative research as a driving force for accelerating the achievement of gender equality. The event echoed a common resistance to global pressures to downplay gender equality efforts, ongoing international funding cuts, and the unjust narrative that transformative solutions cannot emerge from Africa.
