Understanding gender-based differences in the engagement of the youth in agribusiness in South-Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo

Agribusiness is a means of job creation capable of reducing unemployment among young people in developing countries. However, the rate of unemployment is notably higher among young girls who have a relatively low propensity to seize new entrepreneurial opportunities than their male counterparts. Using the Oaxaca-Blinder approach, this study measures the share of differences in young men's and young women's engagement in agribusiness in the South-Kivu province of DR Congo. The study builds on a sample of 375 young people, including 28% of girls, drawn from youth associations in Bukavu and its neighborhoods, the catchment area. The results revealed that a difference of 29% was perceived between the engagement of young men and women in agribusiness. About 3% of this difference was explained by land possession, 16% explained by the contribution of different observable characteristics between the two groups, and 84% attributed to discrimination. Thus, disparities in engagement would have decreased by about 16%, if young women had the same socioeconomic and demographic characteristics or the same access to productive resources as their male counterparts. Therefore, we recommend that interventions aimed at giving equal opportunities to female and male youths should be encouraged and promoted.