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Abstract

Purpose – This study investigates how gender economic inclusion affects sustainable development in Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The study is focused on 42 African countries for the period 2000-2019. It argues that enhancing gender economic inclusion in all sectors of society promotes and sets a better pace for the attainment of sustainable development in Africa. The gender economic inclusion variable used is the females employed as a ratio of the working-age. The study employs the Generalized Method of Moments as the main analysis method alongside the Ordinary Least Squares method. Findings – The results shows that gender economic inclusion has a negative effect on sustainable development in Africa but reveals contradiction when income groups are taken into consideration as seen, wherein the middle-income group in Africa experiences a positive effect of gender economic inclusion on sustainable development. Practical implications – As policy implications, this study recommends policy makers in low-income countries in Africa to do everything within their reach to have equitable gender inclusive societies, that is, to narrow the gap between the already wealthy class of women and the poor by having more women included in different economic sector activities which has the possibility of creating a more conducive atmosphere for sustainable development. Originality/value – The study has complemented the extend literature by assessing the nexus between gender economic inclusion and sustainable development in Africa.