By Delphine O. On, LLM, MPH, LT USNR
It is no longer simply a development issue. It is a national security imperative.
If the United States is serious about preventing global instability, countering extremist influence, competing strategically with China, and securing long-term economic growth, it must fundamentally rethink how it engages Africa. The most strategic investment America can make on the continent is not solely in infrastructure, critical minerals, or military partnerships. It is in women.
Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2050, one in four people on the planet will be African. Whether this demographic transformation fuels prosperity or instability will depend largely on economic opportunity, governance, and inclusion. At the center of all three are women.
Across the continent, women form the backbone of society. They dominate the informal economy, produce a significant share of agricultural output, sustain households, and often serve as stabilizing forces during periods of political or economic turmoil. Yet despite their central role, they remain systematically underfunded, underbanked, and underrepresented in formal decision-making structures.
That exclusion is not merely unjust. It is strategically shortsighted.
Economic marginalization is a well-documented driver of conflict, extremism, and forced migration. When communities lack opportunity, instability spreads. When instability spreads, global security is affected. Ultimately, the United States bears the cost — through humanitarian crises, military interventions, disrupted trade, and weakened regional stability.
Investing in women is therefore not charity. It is preventive security.
Research consistently demonstrates that when women earn income, they reinvest the overwhelming majority of it — often up to 90 percent — back into their families and communities. The result is improved education, stronger health outcomes, increased economic resilience, and more stable local economies. Countries with greater gender equality experience lower levels of violence and a reduced likelihood of state fragility. Women’s participation in governance is also associated with more durable peace agreements and higher levels of institutional accountability.
In other words, empowering women strengthens states. Stronger states contribute to global stability. And global stability directly serves American national interests.
At the same time, geopolitical competition across Africa is intensifying. China has expanded its strategic footprint through sweeping investments in infrastructure and resource extraction, securing access to critical minerals and reshaping trade dynamics across the continent. Yet many of these investments remain largely transactional and extractive in nature.
The United States has an opportunity to offer a different model.
A strategy centered on women’s economic empowerment would signal a long-term commitment to inclusive growth, democratic resilience, and sustainable partnership. Rather than competing solely for resources, the United States can compete for trust, credibility, and enduring influence by investing in human capital, entrepreneurship, and governance systems that create sustainable prosperity.
This is not idealism. It is strategic diplomacy.
Policy tools already exist. The United States can expand educational access for girls, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It can increase support for women-owned businesses through microfinance initiatives, venture capital programs, procurement access, and trade partnerships. It can invest in maternal health, reproductive health, and mental health services not merely as humanitarian initiatives, but as economic stabilizers that enable workforce participation and long-term productivity. It can also partner with African governments to dismantle legal and structural barriers limiting women’s economic inclusion.
Yet there is another strategic asset America has not fully leveraged: African women in the diaspora.
Women of African origin living and working in the United States occupy a uniquely powerful position. They understand both American institutional systems and African political, cultural, and economic realities. Many possess transnational networks, multilingual capabilities, and expertise spanning law, public health, finance, technology, diplomacy, and governance.
They are bridges.
Engaging African women in the diaspora as strategic partners in diplomacy, commerce, cultural exchange, and development initiatives would strengthen U.S.– Africa relations in ways traditional foreign policy mechanisms often cannot. These women are frequently deeply invested in advancing both American interests and transformative progress across African communities. Their lived experiences allow them to navigate complex environments, build trust, and implement solutions that are locally informed and culturally credible.
In an era where influence is measured not only by military strength, but by legitimacy, partnership, and trust, this matters profoundly.
As a woman of African origin who has lived and worked across borders, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of opportunity. When women are empowered, the impact extends far beyond the individual — to families, communities, institutions, and entire nations. When women are excluded, the consequences are equally far-reaching and often generational.
The question is no longer whether the United States should engage Africa more strategically. It must. The continent’s demographic growth, economic potential, and geopolitical significance make disengagement impossible.
The real question is how.
If the United States continues approaching Africa primarily through the lens of resource competition or episodic crisis response, it will fail to address the deeper structural drivers of instability. But if it deliberately invests in women — in their education, businesses, health, leadership, and diaspora networks — it can help shape a future defined not by fragility and crisis, but by partnership, resilience, and shared prosperity.
National security in the 21st century is no longer defined solely by defense budgets or troop deployments. It is defined by the ability to build resilient societies that are less vulnerable to conflict, coercion, extremism, and collapse.
Investing in African women is one of the clearest and most cost-effective strategies to achieve that goal.
And the time to act is now.