Gender and Other Inequalities in African Agroforestry Value Chains: A PRISMA Scoping Literature Review with an Intersectional Lens

This PRISMA scoping review aims to synthesize knowledge on inequalities in representation, participation, and decision-making throughout African agroforestry value chains using an intersectional analytical lens. More broadly, the review seeks to answer three questions: who gets left out of African agroforestry systems, how these exclusions manifest, and in what context they occur. Specifically, the review aims to: (1) Identify vulnerable / disadvantaged groups across different stages of agroforestry value chains in Africa, (2) Examine how inequalities manifest - the specific mechanisms, patterns, and forms that exclusion and marginalization take within agroforestry systems, particularly in terms of representation, participation, and decision-making, (3) Understand the contextual forces - the underlying social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental factors that create and perpetuate these inequalities. By employing an intersectional analytical framework integrated with value chain analysis, the review seeks to move beyond simple documentation of disparities to understand the complex systems of power that shape representation, participation, and decision-making in African agroforestry. The goal of this approach is to illuminate not only which groups face disadvantages, but also the structural and contextual mechanisms that drive these inequalities, ultimately identifying strategic entry points for creating more equitable agroforestry systems.