Women’s Contributions to Development in West Africa

“This edited volume zooms-in on the human-centric aspects of sustainable development, illuminating the various barriers that women in West African countries face in social, economic, and political spheres. The book capitalizes upon rich empirical material and rigorous qualitative social science approaches to document such barriers as well as describe how women rely on both formal and informal institutions to achieve better voice and representation. The many lessons drawn from this work offer practical insights and ideas for future research that are applicable to a variety of developing democracy contexts beyond the African continent.”

—Alisa Moldavanova, University of Delaware, USA

“Considering the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s principle of ‘leave no one behind’ which seeks to target the most vulnerable populations, this collection about the contributions by women to social, economic and political development in West Africa is on point. The qualitative approaches showcase stories that underline the voices of often the poorest of the poor. The authors recognize the challenges with entrenched discrimination and inequalities for women while also empirically demonstrating their relational agency and entrepreneurial spirit.”

—Susan Appe, University at Albany, USA

This book examines women’s participation in social, economic and political development in West Africa. The book looks at women from the premise of being active agents in the development processes within their communities, thereby subverting the dominate narrative of women as passive recipients of development.

Kelly Ann. Krawczyk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Ph.D. Program in Public Administration & Public Policy at Auburn University.


Bridgett A. King is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Master of Public Administration Program at Auburn University.