Euphrasie Kouassi Yao

For 2019 International Women's Day, Kouassi Yao was one of 20 Ivorian women honoured by the Global Platform for Enterprising Women. She was described as an "influential and inspiring woman".

In January 2016, Kouassi Yao was appointed the minister for the Promotion de la Femme, de la Famille et de la Protection de l’Enfant (Promotion of Women, Family and Child Protection) by then Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan. Whilst in the role, she encouraged women to register to vote in the 2016 Ivorian parliamentary election. She was removed from the role in January 2017. In March 2017, she became a special advisor to president Alassane Ouattara, in charge of gender. She has focused on promoting peace after the Second Ivorian Civil War, in particular commemorating women who provided food for their families during the conflict. She promotes the organisation Amour, Solidarité et Audace (Love, Solidarity and Boldness) which has brought together 15,000 Ivorian women of different ethnic backgrounds and religions. In 2018, she spoke on French television channel TV5Monde about women's development in Africa. She has supported the government in its attempts to prosecute those who participate in female genital mutilation.

Euphrasie Kouassi Yao (also Yao Kouassi, born 18 April 1964) is an Ivorian politician, who is the current special advisor to president Alassane Ouattara in charge of gender. She has also served as the Minister for the Promotion of Women, Family and Child Protection, and as a UNESCO chair on their committee on Water, Women and Decision-making.