Gender Responsive Macroeconomic Policy Options for Africa: Egypt and Kenya as Illustrations
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Date
2025
Authors
Fontana Marzia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AERC
Abstract
Austerity policies often prescribed as the remedy for economic crises tend to exacerbate gender inequalities as well as other inequalities. This paper asks what alternative macro-level policy responses are possible to alleviate the negative distributional effects of a crisis and build better foundations for a gender-equitable economy. It focuses on fiscal policy and considers Egypt and Kenya, two African countries with distinct gendered economic structures. The paper uses a range of data and indicators to draw an initial mapping of Egypt and Kenya as gendered structures, with attention to interdependencies and intersectionality. The data analysis highlights both commonalities and differences between the two countries. In both Kenya and Egypt, care systems rely on women’s unpaid work, whereas institutional care provision is not sufficient to meet the growing care needs of the population. Deficits in health, childcare and elderly care infrastructure are significant in both countries, and gaps in physical infrastructure are also present in Kenya, especially in rural areas. Regarding women’s terms of access to paid employment, Egypt is characterized by a dualistic labour market, with few jobs for educated women in the public sector, high levels of female youth employment, and overall low levels of female labour force participation. In Kenya, female labour force participation is higher, but the incidence of vulnerable employment is greater among women, especially in agriculture. Substantial public spending in support of a comprehensive strategy for inclusive structural transformation is required to address these deficits and reduce the barriers that women face in accessing quality jobs in both countries. For all of this to happen, both domestic and external resources need to be mobilized. Some effort needs also to be put into changing ways of understanding the economy, by developing new analytical frameworks and modelling approaches that account for the investment quality of social spending.