Untangling Somalia’s Female Teacher Deficit

“If no one teaches children, who will guide society?”, a female teaching graduate in the Benadir region of Somalia asked the Global Insight research team last summer. 

Education is a key priority for Somalia as it works to build a unified country in the wake of decades of political violence and instability. But access to education continues to be deeply split along gendered lines, with Somali girls attending school for an average of just 1.48 years.

One solution to this gap is increasing the number of women teachers. But at present, women account for only 10% of primary and secondary school teachers. Women teachers are also more likely to leave the profession after only a few years - often in favor of higher paid, more respected professions such as nursing. 

Through more than 170 individual and 30 group interviews conducted during fieldwork throughout the Bay, Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, Lower Juba, Gedo, and Benadir regions of Somalia, we investigated what encourages women to become and remain teachers, and conversely what is driving them away from the profession. 

Here is what we found.

There is a sharp gender divide in how men and women understand the problem.

The (mostly male) decision makers Global Insight interviewed attributed the lack of women in the profession primarily to cultural factors: a preference for “easy work,” a desire to get married and have children, or internalized misogyny that makes women count themselves out of training for or applying for jobs as teachers in the first place.

The women we spoke to, on the other hand, focused far more on material conditions as the primary factor driving them away from teaching, revealing a deep misunderstanding on the men’s part. Many teachers in the region earn below living wage, and unreliable payment schedules mean that sometimes teachers do not get paid for months - or at all.

This instability means that many teachers end up choosing a different career, such as nursing, where the pay is more reliable, higher, and the job offers greater prestige. As a result, many Somalis see teaching as a transitional occupation, leaving as soon as possible to pursue other, more lucrative career paths.

Somali women still carry the full domestic load, whether they work outside the home or not.

Somali society still very much sees the home as a woman’s responsibility, to the extent that some of our local interviewers were confused by our inclusion of a question about who handles domestic responsibilities in their family. The answer was self-evident it seemed.

Responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare fall to women whether they work outside the home or not, and regardless of if they have children of their own. As one recent teaching graduate told us, “I have to wake up at 3am to prepare breakfast for everyone, then get to school to do my job.” Domestic labor is considered a woman’s primary responsibility, with any work outside the home treated as merely supplementary to her primary work at home.

Low and unreliable pay compounds this dynamic, meaning teachers do not hold negotiating power when it comes to sharing housework the way that women in higher paid occupations do. One interviewee explained that nurses, for example, “get assistance in meeting their obligations because the family is okay to sacrifice if the pay is worthwhile.”

Teachers face gendered violence and harassment.

Many teachers we spoke to reported sexual harassment and exploitation from headteachers and men in positions of authority as a key concern - both on the job, and in the hiring process. One female graduate told us, “At times, the managers in positions of power or their assistants ask for sexual favors from female applicants, failure [to provide means] they are not even shortlisted.” Even the perception of this type of quid pro quo can have devastating impacts for a young Somali woman and her family. This dissuades many young graduates from applying for teaching jobs in the first place.

Lack of single-sex spaces for lunch and other work breaks are also a deterrent for many potential women teachers, who may have to travel home for a safe and socially sanctioned place to recuperate between shifts.

In addition, women teachers face risks of violence on their way to and from work as political violence from militant organizations, like Al-Shabaab for example, puts them at risk of kidnapping, robbery, unlawful arrest, and sexual and other forms of violence. Ongoing civil conflict has wreaked havoc on public transportation, meaning teachers often have to walk to school, putting them at increased physical risk. 

The lone “pull factors”: civic responsibility and social recognition

Faced with these challenges, those teachers who persevered in the profession were motivated mostly by a sense of civic duty. One teacher explained that she sees “teaching as a noble course which has a reward from God.”

Many Somalis agree with this mindset, which positions teachers as respected and trustworthy figures in the community. As a result, some of the young women we interviewed reported being offered rides to work from former students, or receiving credits in local shops.    

Our study also noticed evidence that attitudes towards the profession are changing, as part of a larger rethink of the place of women in society. Younger women interviewees showed an enormous optimism, citing “female empowerment” as a positive development and expressing enthusiasm for pursuing their education, finding work, and contributing financially to their families. However, young men were still likely to believe that women should stay at home. 

Suggestions for policymakers

Teaching in Somalia is precarious, challenging, and at times risky for women. Ultimately, the choice to enter, stay, or leave teaching becomes a cost-benefit analysis between the material requirements of survival (including salary, domestic work, and security concerns limiting mobility) and allegiance to the personal ideals of vocation and civic virtue. 

The Somali government has announced plans to target women for teacher recruitment, especially in rural areas. The State is looking to integrate gender-sensitivity training into teacher preparation programs so they can recognize and address gender-based discrimination in the classroom and create a gender-responsive and inclusive learning environment. Female teachers in primary schools should receive adequate support to enable them to perform their duties effectively, including providing mentoring and coaching, professional development opportunities, and ensuring equitable access to available teaching resources. 

The young women Global Insight spoke to face many obstacles and challenges as they pursue their professions. But they were also driven by a deep commitment and desire to do the work. They truly believe that education is the way forward for Somalia, and they want to use their skills to empower girls. We owe it to them to give them the support they need: in the form of a living wage on a reliable schedule, proper anti-harassment policies, and gender-safe spaces in which to do their jobs.

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Note: This piece builds on research the author conducted in 2022, looking at the state of female teachers in Somalia and the push and pull factors that bring and keep them engaged in the profession. This research was produced in partnership with the USAID-funded Bar ama Baro “Teach or Learn” program to better understand what is driving Somalia’s difficulty attracting and retaining women teachers, and what can be done to address it.

Author: Sara Matano is a Researcher at Global Insight. An anthropologist by training, with a graduate degree from the School of Oriental & African Studies at the University of London. Her work merges feminist methodologies and practice and is informed by her more than a decade of experience teaching secondary school in the United States.