Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have become central to Africa’s industrial strategy, helping attract investment, expand exports and create jobs. Their contribution to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality, however, is not automatic. Without deliberate policy choices, SEZs risk reproducing the same inequalities that shape the wider economy. When gender equality is embedded into their design and governance, they can become effective platforms for advancing women’s economic and leadership outcomes.
Women account for a significant share of employment in African SEZs, particularly in labour-intensive industries such as garments, agro-processing and light manufacturing. World Bank analysis shows female participation rates in zones often exceed those in the broader formal economy. Across Africa, women typically make up 30 to 40 percent of the SEZ workforce, with higher shares in countries including South Africa, Nigeria and Togo.
This represents progress in access to formal work and income. It does not, on its own, deliver equality. Women remain concentrated in lower-paid and lower-skill roles, while men dominate technical, supervisory and managerial positions. Gender wage gaps persist, especially at higher income levels, pointing to structural barriers rather than productivity differences. Women are also underrepresented in senior management and on boards, both within SEZ firms and in regulatory institutions.
The lesson is clear. Gender equality in SEZs does not emerge by default. It requires intentional policy design, enforcement and accountability.
The economic case for action is strong. Gender-inclusive labour markets raise productivity by expanding the effective workforce and improving job matching. When women have access to decent work and advancement, household decision-making becomes more balanced, with positive effects on health, education and nutrition. Evidence from Ghana shows firms led by women outperform peers in product and process innovation, strengthening the argument for removing barriers to women’s leadership. Women’s incomes are also more likely to be spent on family welfare, accelerating poverty reduction and supporting both SDG 5 and SDG 1.
Several African experiences show what intentional, gender-responsive SEZ policy can look like. In South Africa, the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone launched the Women of the SEZs initiative in 2023 to promote mentorship, visibility and leadership development. Women leaders across the country’s zones demonstrate how removing institutional barriers can support industrial transformation. In Liberia, the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone includes explicit gender and youth employment targets, committing up to half of jobs to women and young people. The approach recognises that inclusion must be planned and supported by skills development that opens pathways into technical and managerial roles.
Despite these examples, many zones still struggle to translate women’s participation on the shop floor into representation in decision-making. Closing that gap requires policy intervention. Authorities can set gender parity targets for management and boards, backed by monitoring and enforcement. Ghana’s Free Zones Act, which provides for female representation on the Authority’s board, offers a starting point that can be strengthened. Licensing frameworks can require firms to submit gender equity plans covering recruitment, promotion, pay and workplace protections. Investment in mentoring and executive training can help build leadership pipelines, while procurement and financing schemes can prioritise women-owned enterprises. Enforcing equal pay, maternity protection, childcare support and zero tolerance for harassment is essential to creating safe and inclusive workplaces.
SEZs are well placed to lead this shift. Their regulatory flexibility allows governments to pilot gender policies in a contained environment. Their concentration of firms and oversight enables gender standards to be embedded directly into incentives and compliance regimes. As hubs for skills development, they can address the leaky pipeline that excludes women from leadership. They also generate data, making it easier to track outcomes and build an evidence base for reform.
Most importantly, SEZs should be treated as testing grounds rather than endpoints. Gender-responsive practices that succeed within zones can be adapted and scaled across national economies.
The question is not whether SEZs can advance gender equality, but whether policymakers choose to use them to do so. When SDG 5 is built into SEZ governance and incentives, industrial growth becomes more inclusive and more resilient. In that setting, women are not only participants in Africa’s industrialisation, but drivers of its future.
