On May 20, 2025, the webinar “ Women's Networks in Tax and Customs Administrations ” brought together professionals from tax and customs administrations in Benin, France, Gabon, Senegal and Togo to discuss the role played by these networks in promoting gender equality in tax and customs administrations and systems, as well as the difficulties they encounter. The event was organized by Expertise France, as part of the GET - Gender Equality in Taxation project, funded by the French Treasury. The aim of the webinar was to encourage the exchange of best practices in support of the launch of a women's network within Gabon's General Tax Directorate. The discussion presented the diversity of activities organised by women's networks for the well-being and professional development of their members, as well as highlighting the importance of activities carried out in favor of a fairer tax system and, above all, fairer administrations. The panelists shared practical advice on how to create new women's networks in tax and customs administrations, and how to plan the management and running of their activities.
Women's networks take a variety of institutional forms: some are associations within government departments, others are employer networks. They can also take a broader form, anchored within a Ministry of Finance (as in the case in Benin) or thematic networks such as the Réseau des Femmes dans la Gestion des Finances Publiques in Senegal. A-hierarchical, these networks are open to women professionals occupying all types of position within the administration. While most are exclusively for women, some networks, such as the Réseau des Femmes de la DGFiP in France, are of mixed gender. The aim of all these networks is to promote the personal development of women working in the tax sector, to reinforce solidarity between women within their administration and to contribute to professional equality. Networks of this kind are often set up at local level, so that their activities can be sustained even outside capital cities.
The activities of women's networks are very diverse. In addition to their annual conferences, which provide an opportunity to take stock of the network's activities and strengthen links between members, four types of activity can be identified:
Activities in this field involve advocacy to ensure recognition of the gender discrimination that can exist within administrations, and in particular to support women's access to key positions by building their capacities and acting on the obstacles preventing them from expressing their full potential. These include mentoring programs, training and coaching in leadership and self-confidence, as well as sharing the experiences of exceptional women. International Women's Rights Day on March 8 and Violence Against Women Day on November 25 are often opportunities for these networks to raise awareness of gender inequalities within their administration and the tax sector.
Finally, the networks are working to improve relations between taxpayers and their tax authorities. This involves providing training in tax rights and obligations to women entrepreneurs, to clarify the procedures to be followed in cross-border trade, for example, or exchanges with networks of women market traders or business owners.
The Association des Femmes de l'Office Togolaise des Recettes has pledged financial support for the “one pupil, one identity” program to combat the problem of young people not declaring their identity to the public authorities. L'Amicale des Femmes du Ministère en charge des Finances au Bénin supports women in difficult situations in hospitals in the interior of the country. Social actions are recognized as a unifying element for network members.
Sports and cultural activities, as well as raising awareness of women's health issues, were mentioned during the webinar. Some women's networks, in cooperation with their administration's human resources department, are also supporting initiatives to set up hotlines to deal with cases of staff harassment.
The difficulties encountered by women's networks in tax and customs administrations can be financial, when resources are insufficient to carry out the planned activities. When a network's budget is based solely on membership fees (and not partly on financial support from the administration), the task of collecting membership fees can be very time-consuming. Some networks may also encounter difficulties in terms of attractiveness: it is sometimes difficult to make the network attractive to professionals of different ages, grades, positions and locations. For example, offering activities that appeal to everyone, not just female executives, is a challenge for many networks.
Four tips emerge from the experiences of the Beninese, French, Senegalese and Togolese networks: