At the Clinton Global Initiative’s 20th Anniversary meeting, the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center) announced a landmark USD 30 million Commitment to Action to establish the African Women’s House and scale existing programming at the Center, as a bold investment in the future of women’s leadership across the continent.
As the world’s first Presidential Center for a woman leader, the African Women’s House will serve as a pan-African hub for leadership development, feminist organizing, and movement building. Designed to nurture a new generation of women leaders, the House will provide space for training, convening, and research, ensuring that women and girls across Africa have the infrastructure, networks, and support systems needed to rise into positions of power.
Thanks to a growing community of friends and supporters, the EJS Center is now ready to begin construction of the African Women’s House in Monrovia, Liberia.
“The African Women’s House will be a place where women leaders come together to learn, to lead, and to change the future of our continent,” said Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, EJS Center founder and former President of Liberia. “We have long known that African women are the backbone of our societies. Now, we are building the House that their leadership deserves.”
The announcement aligns with the EJS Center’s #GapZero agenda, which calls for urgent action to close the gender gap in public leadership by providing data, evidence, and pathways to equity. The African Women’s House builds on the Center’s flagship Amujae Initiative, which has already supported over 50 African women leaders in breaking barriers across politics, civil society, and business, with plans to also build the next generation of public service leaders.
Through this Commitment to Action, the EJS Center is calling on philanthropists, governments, development institutions, and private sector partners to join in accelerating the journey toward gender parity in public leadership in Africa.
For further information on the Commitment to Action, please visit: https://ejscenter.org/ellen-johnson sirleaf-makes-commitment-to-build-the-african-womens-house-a-first-of-its-kind-pan-african-hub-for womens-leadership/. To stay updated on the EJS Center’s ongoing work, sign up for the EJS Center’s newsletter, follow along on social media, and keep updated through the website.
Contact: For more information, please contact nngunyam@ejscenter.org
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Note to Editors
About the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development: The EJS Center was founded in 2018 to be a catalyst for change across Africa by helping unleash its most abundant untapped power—its women. Through a unique blend of programming, advocacy, research, and exhibitions, the Center advances women’s public leadership and social development on the continent. As the first democratically elected woman president in Africa, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is passionate about supporting the next generation of women in public leadership.
www.ejscenter.org
