Mozambique: Mozambican Women Encounter Obstacles to Employment, Education, and Public Leadership

What the report says

AllAfrica, publishing an Afrobarometer report dated 23 July 2026, says Mozambican women continue to face barriers in education, paid work and public leadership, despite legal and policy commitments to equality. The article, by Maxwell Odhiambo and Simão Djedje, draws on Afrobarometer’s latest Mozambique survey and highlights public concern that police and courts are not doing enough to protect women and girls from discrimination and harassment.

According to the reported findings, men are more likely than women to hold paid jobs, with 10% of men saying they work full time compared with 5% of women, and 12% of men reporting part-time work compared with 3% of women. Respondents most often identified employers’ preference for male workers as the main obstacle to women’s labour-market participation, followed by limited flexible or remote work options, gaps in education and childcare constraints. Thirty percent said husbands or family members often or always stop women from taking paid employment, while 42% said men should receive hiring priority when jobs are scarce.

The survey also points to constraints in education and politics. About 22% of respondents said families often or always keep girls from school because boys’ education is prioritised, and 31% said schoolgirls regularly encounter discrimination, harassment or demands for sexual favours from teachers. In politics, 63% supported equal chances for women and men to be elected, but 34% disagreed; support was lower among men than women.

Afrobarometer placed the findings in the context of Mozambique’s constitutional equality guarantees, recent gender policies and labour-law protections. It also cited wider international measures showing mixed progress, including strong political and health indicators but weaker education and economic outcomes for women.