Women Empowerment
Women in Tostan’s education program gain tools to improve education, health and economic wellbeing
What Is at Stake
In rural areas of West Africa, women and girls face persistent barriers to education, health services, economic opportunity and decision-making power. For example, data show that about 92 % of employed women in the region are in informal employment—and that rises to 95 % when agricultural work is included—limiting access to stable income, benefits and protection.
Because of unequal access to schooling, health, land, finance and voice, women’s potential to contribute to their families, communities and broader development remains under-realised. Without tapping into the incredible potential women and girls offer, communities limit their ability to grow and progress.
What We're Doing
Women and girls make up more than half of our Community Empowerment Program (CEP) participants. During our program, women develop leadership skills, engage in dialogue, and demonstrate their ability to make important decisions for themselves and their families, showing how important they are to their community’s development.
We also work to engage men and boys in the CEP, encouraging them to participate in discussions about human rights. Men and women work together to promote equality and develop new social norms around respecting the human rights and dignity of women and girls and men and boys.
We encourage women to take on leadership roles in their communities. In every Community Management Committee (CMCs), at least nine of the 17 members are women.
How does Tostan’s education program foster social transformation ?
What Change Looks Like
Women who have participated in our program become visible leaders and role-models in their communities. They hold decision-making roles, take action for human rights, and shift expectations of what women and girls can achieve.
In Senegal, more than 80 % of CMCs trained by our organization are coordinated by women. With this experience, these women step into municipal councils, regional federations or associations, widening influence.
At the household level, women exercise greater choice: they manage finance, make decisions about health and hygiene, ensure their children attend school, and lead small businesses. Their economic activity grows—bringing income to families, strengthening resilience and fostering change in social norms.
At community level, the presence of women in leadership changes the conversation: men and boys participate, social norms shift, decisions become more inclusive. Girls see role-models in action and expect to have a voice. Over time, communities move toward gender equity.
These gains support our broader goal: when women and girls are empowered, the ripple effects touch education, health, economic wellbeing, inclusive leadership and sustainable development.
1M
people from 1,420 communities solemnly committed to abandon FGC and child marriage since 2020
67%
decrease in reported cases of intimate partner violence in partner communities
184%
increase in number of community members who agree that women and men should share decision making on birth spacing