The ATAF Women in Tax Network (AWITN), an initiative of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), is celebrating five years of advancing women’s leadership and professional development in the field of taxation across Africa.
Launched in 2021, AWITN was established to bring together women working in tax and related fields across the continent, creating a platform for collaboration, mentorship and dialogue on the important link between tax policy and gender equality. The network supports efforts to advance Sustainable Development Goal 5, which promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Over the past five years, ATAF has strengthened AWITN’s impact by combining advocacy, research, leadership development, and practical implementation across member countries. Through these initiatives, the network has helped translate gender commitments into measurable outcomes within tax administrations.
Among AWITN’s key achievements is the successful implementation of four mentorship programme cohorts, which have supported more than 250 mentees across Africa. The network’s mentorship model has also informed the development of the NTO Women’s Network Guidelines, currently being piloted by international organisations such as the Cercle de Réflexion et d’Échange des Dirigeants des Administrations Fiscales (CREDAF) and the Pacific Islands Tax Administrators’ Association (PITAA).
AWITN has also contributed to increasing women’s participation in professional training. Participation of women in ATAF Tax Academy programmes has risen from 30% in 2021 to 45% in 2025, reflecting growing efforts to strengthen women’s representation in specialised areas of taxation.
Additional milestones include the development and pilot of the Gender Disaggregated Data (GDD) Indicators Framework, the signing of the AWITN Pledge by 23 ATAF member countries, and initiatives to increase women’s participation in specialised tax fields such as data analytics, tax investigations, transfer pricing and tax research methodology.
The network has further strengthened leadership development through the AWITN Leadership Development Programme, which has trained 23 middle managers from 13 countries and 37 executives from 20 countries, helping prepare the next generation of female leaders in African tax administrations.
Beyond the continent, AWITN has also contributed to international policy discussions, including participation in the G20 Development Working Group Task Team and the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group under South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
These milestones have been made possible through the support of ATAF member countries, AWITN members and development partners committed to advancing gender equality within tax systems and public administration.
To commemorate its fifth anniversary, AWITN will host a special anniversary webinar reflecting on the network’s journey and discussing how gender-responsive practices can continue to strengthen tax administrations across Africa.
The anniversary webinar will also feature first-hand experiences from women who have benefited from AWITN’s mentorship, leadership development and capacity-building programmes. These testimonials will highlight how the network has supported professional growth, strengthened women’s participation in specialised tax fields and helped advance women into leadership roles within tax administrations across Africa.
AWITN Fifth Anniversary Webinar
Date: Monday, 16 March 2026
Time: 11:00 – 12:00 CAT
Participants can register in advance here. For additional information, interested participants may contact Dr Nthabiseng Debeila at awitn@ataftax.org.
As AWITN marks this milestone, the network continues to build momentum toward its next phase of impact under the 2026–2030 AWITN Strategy, which aims to further strengthen women’s leadership, participation and influence in African taxation.
