Half of Moroccans say men should get scarce jobs first

An Afrobarometer survey found that 51% of Moroccans believe men should receive priority when jobs are scarce, while only 36% support equal employment rights for women and men.

The findings place Morocco within a wider African debate over women’s economic independence and the gap between formal equality commitments and everyday attitudes.

Across the 38 countries covered by the survey, 75% of respondents supported women’s right to make their own decisions about marriage, while 62% backed their autonomy in decisions related to childbirth.

Afrobarometer said employer preferences for male workers and perceptions that women lack the necessary training or skills were among the most frequently cited barriers to entering and advancing in the labor market.

About one-quarter of respondents across Africa also said husbands and families often restrict women’s access to employment.

The survey found that 28% of Africans believed women faced harassment in public spaces, including markets, streets and public transport. Around 78% said public institutions should do more to protect women from such treatment.

The report noted that gender equality remains a formal priority under the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which calls for equal rights in property ownership, inheritance, contracts and access to financial services, as well as stronger action against violence targeting women.

African governments have also endorsed those commitments through the 2003 Maputo Protocol and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Afrobarometer said implementation remained uneven. Africa’s score on a regional gender equality index fell from 61% in 2019 to 58.2% in 2023, reflecting deteriorating economic conditions that affected women disproportionately.

Women remain more likely than men to work in informal and insecure jobs, earn lower incomes and face unequal access to land, financing, agricultural inputs and other means of production, the report said.