Young Lives’ Ethiopia evidence highlights increasing gender differences as children grow up, often compounded by other inequalities based on wealth, location and education. Girls are less likely to be sent to preschool, whereas in primary school boys are more at risk of dropping out. Girls face pressure in combining school with work in the home as well as for pay. Girls’ chances of post-primary education are often constrained by social norms. In adolescence, gender roles become accentuated and girls face risks of greater work burdens and gender-based violence. In the transition to adulthood, adolescent girls face challenges and difficult choices in prioritising or combining education, work, marriage and parenting. These patterns of gender disadvantage further constrain women’s opportunities in adulthood. Policies on children and youth, as well as sectoral policies in health and education, should address gender issues, which require further support and targeted plans and programmes.