Gabon: Women Business Managers Few and Far Between

Marie-Julie Nse Ndzime has made a success of her printing company located in Gabon's capital, Libreville - no thanks to anyone else. "I never received a request for bids nor was lent any money by the banks," she told IPS. "I only got a leg up by hard work and networking." Only 10 percent of Gabonese businesswomen manage companies in the country. Many face an uphill struggle in trying to get fair treatment from their male counterparts, who have tended to judge them on their physical appearance alone.