By: Kanto Kai Okanta
The
African Union Commission has intensified efforts to mainstream gender equality
into Africa’s infrastructure, energy, aviation, and digital transformation
sectors following a high-level bilateral engagement with UN Women.
H.E.
Lerato D. Mataboge, Commissioner for Infrastructure #and Energy at the African
Union Commission, received Ms. Doris Mpoumou, UN Women Special Representative
to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, for
an inaugural discussion aimed at strengthening cooperation on inclusive
development frameworks.
The
engagement focused on ensuring that women and girls are meaningfully integrated
into Africa’s infrastructure future, in line with the ambitions of Agenda 2063.
Both institutions examined practical mechanisms to move gender equality
commitments from policy principles into implementation tools across key sectors
driving continental transformation.
Key
outcomes of the discussion included proposals to develop a continental toolkit
for integrating gender equality into artificial intelligence and emerging
technologies, as well as the establishment of minimum standards and scorecards
to assess gender responsiveness in infrastructure development across energy,
aviation, and digital sectors. The two parties also considered a joint
continental campaign to promote the participation of women in infrastructure
and technology-related fields.
The
dialogue further explored alignment with the African Union Theme of the Year
2027, with a focus on ensuring that initiatives such as the Single African Air
Transport Market (SAATM) and emerging technology frameworks are designed with
inclusivity and equity from the outset.
The
African Union Commission reaffirmed its commitment to embedding gender
considerations across infrastructure and energy policy development, with
technical teams mandated to advance the proposals into concrete implementation
steps.
The
engagement marks the beginning of a strengthened partnership between the
African Union Commission and UN Women aimed at advancing a more inclusive and
equitable development trajectory for Africa’s infrastructure and digital
future.
