This is how we can get more young women into formal labour market

For this potential to be realised, the report stresses that a number of structural barriers that have traditionally kept young women out of the formal job market, have to be dismantled.

One of these barriers is the exclusion of young women from higher education and training. As it stands, more than 61 percent of young women cannot access the training needed to grow in a professional capacity.

While this may not always be the case, many times, the level of education achieved dictates the range of employment opportunities that a candidate can access.

In 2025, about 63 percent of employed young women and 55 percent of employed young men had only a primary education or less. Agriculture absorbed most of these workers. The few young women with a primary education who managed to get service sector jobs remained concentrated in the most informal sub sectors, including household-related services.

Meanwhile, over half of women with secondary education and nearly four-fifths of those with tertiary education were employed in well-paying service jobs, a pattern that is projected to continue through 2040.

Higher education translates into higher incomes, partly because it enables workers to transition into higher-paying sectors.

Higher female employment does not guarantee economic security. We need to give our young women the proper education, for them to access higher paying jobs.

Read: More Kenyan youth join informal employment as jobs become thin

Additionally, there is a need for stakeholders to work towards addressing the issue of unpaid care work, which has traditionally prevented many women from participating in the expanding services sector.

With young women already projected to lead the historic shift into the services sector, investing in their potential today will transform a persistent gender gap into a powerful engine for Africa’s future prosperity.

According to the Africa Youth Employment Outlook 2026 report, about 28 percent of women, compared to only three percent of men, do not participate in the formal labour market, due to care responsibilities.

In Rwanda, the largest jump in earnings occurs at the tertiary level, where women’s average income rises from about $0.98 (Sh126) per day with less than primary education to $7.28 (Sh936) per day with tertiary education.

The writer is the Vice President for Strategic Engagements, at World Data Lab (WDL).

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