“Some obstacles, some stops”: barriers to gender-transformative grant-making in Africa’s research funding organisations

Persistent gender disparities continue to shape who participates in, benefits from, and is recognised within Africa’s science, technology and innovation (STI) landscape. As key actors setting research priorities and allocating resources, research funding organisations (RFOs) play a pivotal role in advancing gender responsive and transformative grant-making. Because most scholarship on gender-responsive funding originates in the Global North, it provides an insufficient understanding of the specific obstacles encountered by RFOs operating in Africa. Drawing on the Gender at Work analytical framework, this qualitative study examines the barriers Africa-based RFO staff face in integrating gender and equity considerations into their work. Seventeen key informant interviews were conducted online with RFO staff from seven sub-Saharan African countries. Findings reveal barriers across three quadrants of the framework. Due to a lack of awareness and conscious engagement, gender considerations are seldom integrated into routine organizational activities. Access to resources and opportunities is constrained by insufficient gender expertise, limited training, and reliance on descriptive gender-disaggregated data. Informal cultural norms and deep structures, such as patriarchal organizational cultures and motherhood-related constraints, play a role in women’s career advancement. Although formal policies and institutional arrangements are in place, their implementation varies across contexts. Overall, the study shows that efforts toward gender-transformative grant-making by Africa-based RFOs are influenced by intersecting structural, cultural, and capacity-related factors. Strengthening gender awareness, enhancing technical capacity, and supporting context appropriate implementation strategies can help advance more transformative practices over time.