The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa, situated on the west coast of the Continent. It is surrounded by Senegal on the northern, eastern and southern borders, but has a narrow outlet to the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia is a Least Developed Country and one of the poorest in the world. According to the 2006 UN Human Development Index, The Gambia ranked 155th out of 177 countries, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US $360 (2003).

The Gambia has total land area of 10,698 square kilometers, varying in width between 42km near the mouth of the river to 24km further upstream and stretching for about 480km in length. There are five administrative regions: Central River Region (CRR), Lower River Region (LRR), North Bank Region (NRR), Western Region (WR) and Upper River Region (URR), all of which are rural and headed by Governors. There are two municipalities: Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) and Banjul City Council (BCC) which are urban. Each of them is headed by a Lord Mayor. Each local government area is divided into districts and headed by a chief. There are 45 districts in The Gambia which are further divided into Wards composed of cluster villages. Each village is headed by an Alkalo (village head).

According to the 2003 Census, the population of The Gambia stood at 1.3 million, 51% of whom were rural-based women. Occupation is mostly agricultural, which is mostly physically intensive due to lack of machinery or appropriate technologies for production, preservation and marketing.

The people
Due to the patriarchal nature of The Gambian society, there is a strong gender-based division of labour, and clearly defined rules and responsibilities for women and men. Women are recognized primarily for their reproductive and community roles while men are recognised for their public and development-related roles. In The Gambia, the boy-child is given preference over the girl-child in terms of education and training. This creates disparities in terms of enrolment, participation, retention and quality of education for girls, and limits the girl-child’s opportunities and prospects.

Productive Sectors and Livelihood
Women comprise 70% of the agricultural labour force, albeit their contribution is unskilled, except in few industries. They are responsible for 80% of overall vegetable production and 99% of the production of rice – the country’s staple food. According to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) II, women work predominantly as subsistent farmers with no finance, equipment or appropriate technology. They receive poor interventions to improve their production, skills or increase their farming inputs and marketing opportunities. Their annual earnings in all activities are estimated at about 50% of men's earnings in the same industries due to the fact that women occupy positions of a lower level.

The low quality and quantity of horticultural produce and subsistent food by these women, has a resultant effect. Considering the low supply of their products, establishments like  hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and other major dealers resort to importation.

Women are as well a major contributor to food security in The Gambia, especially in rice production. Most families in the rural areas depend on rice and vegetables produced by women. Therefore, the sector needs to be developed.

Women and children are usually the target, when food aid is supplied by donor agencies to needy communities but their nutritional needs are not met; mainly because supplies are channelled through household heads, who are men.

According to the 1999 womens policy, in the fishery sector, women form 80% of the fish loaders. 99% of the fish processors are women.  Again, they operate at micro level with little or no capital to upgrade their business activities.

Women actively participate in livestock rearing mainly, poultry keeping, sheep fattening and dominate the informal sector and  form the majority of the unskilled labour force.

In tourism industry, women are engaged in producing  and selling handcrafts, as well as supply of fresh food, fish and other semi processed items to hotels. Women operate at micro level with inadequate capital to upgrade their business activities.

Also, few women get involved in the import and export trade, handling items such as tie and dye, fashion products,  textiles, jewelries, fish and horticultural exports with limited or inadequate capital and external markert opportunities.

In 2005, women formed co-operative union for groundnut purchases but they could not continue in 2006 due to lack of neccessary skills.

In the formal sector, women have low representation: occupying 13.9% of the professional and technical jobs, 12.8% of the managerial positions, 26.3% of the electrical, 9.4% of the skilled labour but 61.9% of the unskilled labour (population data- 1994),  in crafts and other related trades. 

More men are employed than women. The women's petty trading in the informal sector contributes a lot to the household and country's economy, as they are comparatively more able to supplement the feeding, education and clothing of their children.

The annual growth rate of The Gambia poulation is estimated at 2.2% density of 133 persons per square kilometers. The life expectancy at birth is 57 years for women and 55 years for men. This is lower in the rural areas where it is 54.5 years for women and 46.3 years for men.

In 2001, vital statistics report infant mortality was 84 per 1000 live birth and for those under 5 years of age it was 135 per 1000. Maternal mortality rate stood at 730 per 100,000 live birth.

As for education, the adult literacy rate is about 25.6%. The primary enrolment ratio for girls is 73% , 49% for lower basic, 46% for upper basic and 37% for secondary according to 2002/3 record. Gender parity is acheived in  lower basic and not in secondary and tertiary.

Achievements and Challenges

Despite the challenges, some achievements have been registered over the period. In the area of women participation in decision making, both the Vice President and Speaker of the National Assembly are women. Women have over the years occupied ministerial positions, being appointed as Director General,  Secretary General, Head of Civil Service and Directors. In the Private sector, women are competing favourably, irrespective of the fact that the number is limited.

Also, in the education sector, girls enrolment has improved, parity at basic level has been achieved and performance in tertiary level has also improved. Nonetheless, alot needs to be done in terms of number, survival and quality. Maternal and child mortality has reduced; but the number is still high. Women's access to clean drinking water has increased appreciablyl but water for cultivation remains a challenge.