Embracing Equity: What does it mean and what does it take?

Generation Africa members Group offers a big tent for any organization working on youth agenda to share their learning, forge linkages, and ultimately define and align behind a transformative collective effort. This is to enable member organizations learn from each other on how to best improve the ecosystems for agripreneurship, identify major gaps and close in on them. This synergized approach will enable a better ecosystem for young agripreneurs created by partnership and collaboration which, none of the organizations can achieve alone. The discussions and learnings assist in country-level programming that will enable countries satisfy the ever-growing demand for youth employability.

The theme for 2023 International Women’s Day is “Embrace Equity”.

Agenda – What is the Interplay between Equity and Inclusivity?

The 2030 Agenda’s central principle is “Leave No One Behind” (LNOB), a commitment to eradicate poverty, discrimination, inequalities, and vulnerabilities undermining the potential of individuals and
communities.

According to a study by McKinsey & Company; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are three closely linked values held by organizations, programs, initiatives, people, working to be supportive of different groups of individuals, including but not limited to; people of different races, age, ethnicities, religions, abilities, genders, and sexual orientations.

Equity aims to ensure the fair treatment, access, equality of opportunity and advancement for everyone while also attempting to identify and remove the barriers that have prevented some groups from fully participating.

Equity promotes justice, fairness and impartiality within the processes, procedures, and distribution of resources by systems or institutions. To tackle equity, people need to understand the root causes of outcome disparities in society.  (Rosencrance, 2023)

There have been and still are, ongoing efforts and initiatives in having more marginalized and vulnerable groups have their input and voices in decision making arenas and on the implementation front as well. The burgeoning youth population in Africa stands at over 60% of its total population; but it this statistic reflected in the workforce, think tanks, agenda setting and political arenas?

Africa’s youth have enormous potential -that has been demonstrated – to support the shift towards an agrifood system that is not only sustainable but inclusive too.

This session is tying in the IWD theme on embracing equity and Generation Africa’s mission of promoting inclusivity of the youth in the agri-food sector in the continent.

 Question to Members

• In what way can organizations be more inclusive to encompass marginalized and vulnerable groups such as youth, women, persons with disability and so forth?
• What does embracing equity mean to you?
•  In which areas should more efforts be employed to ensure more inclusiveness?
• Please share any good examples of DEI practices, measures or initiatives that can be adopted, shared and/or scaled up.