← BackOp-Ed · 2025
Women as Infrastructure: The Invisible Architecture of African Economies
Women are not a demographic to be included. They are the infrastructure upon which African economies are already built. Policy must recognize this reality.
By Phanice of Africa
In every African economy, women are not peripheral participants — they are structural pillars. From agriculture to informal trade, from caregiving to community governance, women constitute the invisible infrastructure upon which visible economies depend.
Yet policy continues to treat women as beneficiaries rather than architects. This op-ed argues for a fundamental reframe: designing economic policy that recognizes women not as a gap to be filled, but as a foundation to be strengthened.
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