Press Release No. 19/252

Women’s Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion in the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe

June 28, 2019

The government of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, and the High Commission of Canada convened a workshop on women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion on June 26-27, 2019 in Sao Tome. The participants:

• Identified critical barriers, opportunities, and solutions for promoting women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion, which is critical for accelerating economic growth and reducing the country’s high debt vulnerabilities;

• Disseminated policy-focused best-practices and providing a forum for open exchange and collaboration for technical-level staff at sectoral ministries, NGOs, CSOs, and the private sector; and

• Began drafting a national action plan on women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion.  The plan will be discussed at a July 31 high-level conference celebrating African Woman’s Day.

  A new government took office in December 2018 in São Tomé and Príncipe and set several key objectives including increasing economic growth and employment and improving social services. Prioritizing resource allocation to protect social spending and promote growth is essential to addressing the country’s high debt vulnerability and is a crucial objective of a program under discussion with the International Monetary Fund. These efforts are complemented by various World Bank-supported programs, including one on social protection.

  Recognizing that women and youth face disproportionately higher unemployment rates and fewer entrepreneurship opportunities, the government sees this as women’s economic empowerment as an area deserving special attention and representing a vital source of growth. Progress in this area is also an indispensable component of meeting the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

  The two-day workshop brought together approximately 40 participants from the private and public sectors and development organizations to discuss the barriers that women face, identify measurable goals, and brainstorm on policy-focused solutions. Experts on gender equality offered analytical evidence on the macroeconomic implications of women’s economic empowerment, described best practices from the region, and moderated plenary and breakout group discussions. At the end of the two-day workshop, the participants presented their findings and recommendations, and began drafting the new national action plan on women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion. 

  Discussions among participants focused on the following main messages:

• Improving economic empowerment for women in Sao Tome and Principe requires the development of strategies that are based on the economic and social realities in the country and identifying and removing the obstacles that prevent women from achieving their full potential.  Solutions require the active involvement of all members of society.

• Key barriers to women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion include unpaid care work, high adolescent pregnancy rates, gender-based violence, lack of collateral to secure loans, high illiteracy rates, and social norms.

• Women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion should be mainstreamed into the legal framework, budget process, and development strategies. Existing laws on gender equality and gender-based violence should be enforced.

• Stakeholders include not only the ministry of finance and sectoral ministries but also parliament, the private sector, civil society, non-governmental organizations, development partners, citizens, and the media.

• Reliable gender-disaggregated data are necessary for monitoring the country’s progress on the targets identified in the national action plan.