Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region

As economic activity recovers in Sub-Saharan Africa, how can education systems better prepare millions of students for the workforce? 

Join moderator Nozipho Tshabalala, Andrew Dabalen, Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank, and other experts as they explore the urgent need to transform education for inclusive growth. 

With 170 million more students entering schools by 2030, the region must build 9 million classrooms and hire 11 million teachers. Beyond financing, the focus must shift to improving learning outcomes and equipping youth with skills for the fast-changing job market.  

Using data from the largest online job portal in Nigeria, the speaker will discuss the (a) gender differences in salary offers for jobs, and (b) the response of (a) to recessions. Jobs in industries where the number of job applicants skews female offer lower starting salaries than jobs in industries where applicants skew male. During Nigeria’s 2016 recession, overall job applications rose, but applications to jobs in industries that skew male increased more than applications to jobs in industries that skew female. Salary offers fell sharply for jobs in male-skewed industries compared to female-skewed industries. In accordance with this relative shift in applications, in 2016, the salary-offer gender gap almost disappeared.