Groundnut production serves as a vital source of livelihood for numerous rural households within the regions targeted by the USAID Groundnut Up-scaling Project (GUP), which aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity, market integration, and household income. Despite these efforts, socio-economic and gender-related constraints including traditional gender roles, limited access to productive resources, and restricted decision-making power continue to hinder women’s effective participation in the Groundnut Value Chain (GVC). This study examines the socio-economic constraints influencing gender participation in the GVC under the USAID-GUP initiative, with a focus on identifying strategies to promote women’s empowerment, gender equity and inclusive agricultural development in the study area. The study adopted a multi-stage and snowball sampling technique to select 200 respondents, comprising 100 participants and 100 non-participants across six Local Government Areas (LGAs). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a three-point Likert scale, and Z-tests. Findings revealed that female participants (72.7%) predominantly engage in processing activities, whereas male participants (92.9%) dominate groundnut production. In non-participating communities, both male (90.5%) and female (75.0%) farmers were primarily involved in production, with no significant engagement in processing activities. Informal credit sources were the primary financing channels across both Participating Local Government Areas (PLGAs) and Non-Participating Local Government Areas (NPLGAs). Men cultivated a higher proportion of the improved SAMNUT-22 variety (21.4% among participants and 39.3% among non-participants), while women predominantly cultivated SAMNUT-21 (31.8%) and SAMNUT-23 (31.3%) in participating and non-participating communities, respectively. Land acquisition was mainly through inheritance across genders in both PLGAs and NPLGAs. The study identified insufficient credit, unstable market prices, inconsistent government policies, middlemen exploitation, and insecurity as the most severe constraints to participation, particularly among non-participant households. Respondents in PLGAs experienced mild constraints (mean = 0.76), while those in NPLGAs reported high-severity constraints (mean = 1.00), indicating the positive impact of USAID-GUP interventions. Although no significant gender difference was observed in income levels, several constraints significantly (P <0.05, P <0.01) affected participation namely insufficient credit, price instability, unstable policies, middlemen interference, and insecurity. The Z-test results (Z = 2.14***, for PLGAs; Z = –1.28^NS for NPLGAs, p< 0.01) indicated significant gender-based differences in the severity of constraints affecting participation. The study concludes that the USAID-GUP intervention has effectively reduced gender-based barriers to participation in the GVC, thereby contributing to enhanced inclusiveness, empowerment, livelihood improvement but systematic gender inequalities remain deeply rooted among participating households. It recommends targeted gender-sensitive policies, improved financial inclusion, and dissolving the problem of middle men interference and strengthening community-based security to sustain equitable participation and empower women within the groundnut value chain.