The United Nations theme for International Women’s day 2016 is “Achieving Gender Parity.” On a continent with as many boundaries for women as Africa, this still seems a far away reality. Although we have done amazing work in pushing forward the agenda of women in the past 15 there is undoubtedly a long way to go. Development of the African continent needs to be driven by women and men–and it is important to bring women’s voices to every table, every conference and every conversation. Women have made major change on this continent. And this International Women’s day we celebrate their achievements and their struggles, as we echo the sentiments that we need to carry with us in our work.

Many of the points mentioned in this The TED Talk below, given in 2012, are as important today as they were when AWDF CEO Theo Sowa first spoke on them. There is still a desperate need to have a larger number of African women at the table, where they can shape “our story.”