The latest Afrobarometer survey highlights challenges faced by Liberian women and girls, including gender- based violence, limited access to education, healthcare, employment opportunities, political participation and economic disparities.
The survey indicates that these disparities are reinforced by discriminatory social norms, values, and practices, citing the Government of Liberia, 2024; Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2025.
“Together, these factors undermine women’s development and prevent them from reaching their full potential,” according to the survey conducted by the Center for Democratic Governance (CDG).
The 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, places Liberia in 42 out of 146 countries on indicators of gender equality (World Economic Forum, 2024), the survey noted.
However, according to the survey, Liberia performed poorly on key sub-indexes: “It ranks 134 in educational attainment and 125 in health and survival,” the Afrobarometer findings said.
Barriers to Education
According to the survey, barriers to education remain particularly acute in rural areas and among low-income communities, while limited access to health care, especially reproductive health services, contributes to poor maternal and child health outcomes (Government of Liberia, 2024).
Economic Exclusion
It reveals that economic exclusion is also widespread. Women face restricted access to land, credit, and formal employment and are often concentrated in low-wage sectors. In politics, women are significantly underrepresented:
As of April 2025, Liberia places 161 out of 183 countries in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (2025) ranking of women in national parliaments, with women holding just 11% of seats — well below the sub-Saharan African average of 27.2% and even the West African average of 19.2%.
“These challenges persist despite a strong legal foundation for equality,” the survey adds. Article 11c of the Liberian Constitution guarantees equal protection under the law (Republic of Liberia, 1986).
Liberia has also developed a National Gender Policy (2007, revised in 2018) and a National Action Plan to guide its implementation (Ministry of Gender and Development, 2009).
In addition, Liberia is a signatory to multiple regional and international frameworks aimed at advancing women’s rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Maputo Protocol, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The government’s current five-year development strategy, the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, identifies six pillars (Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, 2025).
While Pillar 6 focuses on human capital development and includes a sub-theme on women’s empowerment, the lack of a standalone pillar on gender equality raises concerns that gender-related interventions may be overlooked or insufficiently prioritized during implementation.
Key findings
Afrobarometer’s 2024 survey in Liberia suggest that women continue to face discrimination, sexual harassment, and other barriers to the development of their potential.
Most Liberians say women and girls are likely to be believed if they complain of discrimination or harassment, but most also think the police and courts need to do more to protect them from such treatment.
Liberian women are however less likely than men to have higher education and paying jobs. While few respondents say that families still prioritize boys over girls when it comes to education, significant minorities report that husbands and relatives prevent women from taking employment and that sexual harassment of women and girls in public spaces, including schools, is common.
And while a majority of citizens support women’s equal chance at being elected for public office, the share who espouse this view has declined since Afrobarometer’s previous survey in 2022.
