Recent data from six sub-Saharan African countries show that the proportion of women among primary school leaders is very low, despite the fact that in most countries there is a positive evolution of female participation in the teaching force. In Niger, where female teachers represent over half of the primary education teaching workforce, women account for only 17 per cent of primary school leaders. In Togo, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, only around one in 10 primary school leaders are women.

The teacher issue is fundamental to the success of the international community’s commitments to education. The recent Education 2030 framework for action refers explicitly to the issue by committing to “substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries.”