The gender gap in labour force participation and educational attainment remains a persistent challenge in the ECOWAS region, undermining social progress and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5. Thus, we provide valuable insights into how the dynamics of female employment in the agriculture, industrial, and service sectors, as well as female school enrolment, contribute to reducing the gender inequality in ten selected countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo) within the ECOWAS region. The panel datasets were obtained from the World Development Indicators of the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report from 2005 to 2023. We employed pooled regression, fixed- and random-effects models, and the Hausman test, in conjunction with descriptive statistics, to analyse the datasets. Findings from the stylised facts for the aggregate sample indicated that the gender inequality index averaged 0.620, highlighting the pronounced discrimination faced by women and girls compared to men and boys across critical dimensions of human development, including employment, education, health, and political participation. The summary statistics for the disaggregated sample revealed that Nigeria is the least performing country in reducing the gender gap, showing an average gender inequality index of 0.676, which is greater than the regional average during 2005 - 2010. However, Senegal demonstrated an impressive performance in reducing gender inequality, with an average gender inequality index of 0.543 during the study period (2005-2023) and a decline from 0.546 in 2011 to 0.49 in 2023. More importantly, the random-effects findings indicated that female employment in agriculture significantly reduced gender inequality during the study period. This underscores the extensive involvement of women in agricultural activities and their contribution to the economic empowerment and financial independence of women in the ECOWAS region. Similarly, the random effects results indicated negative, significant impacts of female employment in industry and services on the gender parity index. The magnitude of this impact is greater than that of female employment in agriculture, suggesting that employment in industry and services offers women improved working conditions and status due to the associated higher and more stable income, alongside labour protections and social security benefits. However, the results further reveal that female primary school enrolment does not significantly reduce gender inequality during the student period. This underscores the inadequacy of primary education in mitigating structural inequalities, owing to limited economic empowerment and rising school dropout rates. Given the findings, we recommend that policymakers in the ECOWAS prioritise gender-sensitive employment and education by enhancing women's access to land and decent work, eliminating workplace discrimination, supporting female entrepreneurship, and promoting equal educational opportunities.