Women still face societal prejudices: Graça Machel Trust

A study commissioned by the Graça Machel Trust has revealed that women still face societal prejudices, gender pay gaps and discriminatory lack of access to finance and technology.

The Trust has gathered women from the continent in Johannesburg for a three-day Women in Wealth 2025 summit.

The summit seeks to foster economic and social transformation for women and the youth to access markets, access to finance and investments on the continent.

Former First Lady Graça Machel delivered a keynote address calling for transformative collaborative efforts to break these barriers.

She says, “We’re trying to change what has been for too long accepted that African women in particular, especially in the economy, are fine to be in the informal sector, they are fine to be in small medium enterprises, but we are saying that no it’s not fine we are going to fight this.”

“We will break those barriers that we are still going to break, but yes African women deserve and it is their right to not only to survive to have enough to put on the table, but no they deserve it, it’s their right to be wealthy and create wealth for themselves, their families, their communities and for our nation,” Machel adds

Graça Machel Trust Senior Entrepreneurship Manager, Korkor Cudjoe, on re-shaping the narrative around African women entrepreneurs: