Think about two colleagues on the identical firm. One believes their office is honest and equitable. The opposite, sitting on the desk subsequent to them, experiences one thing very completely different each day.
That hole, the house between what we consider and what individuals truly dwell, is on the coronary heart of what GeoPoll got down to measure early March 2026.
Our Africa Gender Survey 2026 is now obtainable. It surveyed 2,420 respondents throughout Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt, and what got here again was an image that’s directly hopeful and sobering.
The Notion Hole Is Actual, and It Lives within the Office
Ask individuals at a societal degree whether or not women and men have equal alternatives, and 65% will say sure. Ask those self same individuals particularly about their very own office, and that determine drops to 52%.
13 proportion factors. That’s the distance between what we consider within the summary and what individuals expertise on the bottom, and it’s arguably an important discovering on this report.
It will get sharper while you break it down by gender. Amongst employed respondents, 57% of males say their office treats everybody equally. Solely 46% of girls say the identical. Essentially the most generally noticed expression of this inequality? Almost half of respondents famous that ladies are concentrated in junior roles whereas males dominate senior management.
These are usually not perceptions of a faraway downside. They’re descriptions of the place individuals spend most of their waking hours.
Almost Half of Respondents Have Skilled Sexual Harassment
47% of respondents throughout the 4 markets reported having personally skilled some type of sexual harassment.
That quantity by itself ought to give us pause. However the gender breakdown is the place it turns into inconceivable to look away: almost 6 in 10 ladies, 59%, reported private expertise of sexual harassment, in comparison with 35% of males. And essentially the most regularly cited location was not a darkish alley or a public house. It was the office, at 51%.
The survey additionally discovered that harassment in academic settings was reported by 32% of respondents, a determine that carries severe long-term penalties for women’ participation and outcomes in studying.
What makes this more durable to handle will not be consciousness. It’s motion. Analysis on African media organisations, cited within the report, discovered that whereas one in two ladies skilled office sexual harassment, solely 30% of circumstances have been ever formally reported. Worry of retaliation and a insecurity that organisations would reply meaningfully have been the first causes.
81% of Folks Consider Ladies Ought to Inherit Equally. So Why Doesn’t It Occur?
The reply, based on 62% of respondents, is cultural and conventional beliefs.
This is likely one of the most putting tensions in the complete report. There may be near-universal normative settlement that ladies ought to have equal property inheritance rights, 81% affirming it throughout the total pattern. But the first barrier will not be legislation. It isn’t coverage. It’s deeply ingrained cultural apply that continues to override formal rights in communities throughout Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt.
Spiritual interpretations have been cited by 10% of respondents, whereas 12% pointed to the notion that ladies are usually not everlasting members of the family, a view that leaves widows significantly susceptible. The hole between what individuals say they consider and what they’re keen to implement in their very own households and communities is likely one of the hardest issues in gender equality work, and this survey makes it seen.
75% Would Vote for a Feminine President. However None of These 4 Nations Has Had One.
That distinction says a fantastic deal.
Throughout all 4 markets, 75% of respondents mentioned they have been probably or very prone to vote for a feminine presidential candidate. Solely 15% mentioned they have been unlikely to take action. Public attitudes, it appears, have moved forward of political constructions.
Not one of the 4 nations surveyed, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, or Egypt, has had a feminine president or head of presidency. But voters say they’re prepared. That factors clearly to structural and institutional obstacles as the true impediment, not public resistance.
The info additionally exhibits that help for enhancing entry to justice is the highest precedence motion respondents need from governments, chosen by 79% of the pattern. Increasing schooling and coaching got here second at 66%, and growing ladies’s management third at 58%.
Obtain the Full Report
The findings above are a place to begin. The complete GeoPoll Africa Gender Survey 2026 covers:
- Nation-level breakdowns for Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt
- Gender-disaggregated information throughout each key subject
- Consciousness, publicity, and witness charges throughout 9 forms of gender-based violence
- Family monetary decision-making and financial empowerment
- AI utilization patterns and attitudes by gender
- Conclusions and actionable suggestions for governments, organisations, and advocates
The info exists to tell choices. We hope it does.
Contact Us
For extra details about this venture, get clarifications on any part within the information, or to study extra about our capabilities, please be at liberty to contact GeoPoll.