Uganda has made significant strides in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, particularly in leadership, business, and education. Its true Uganda has groomed High-profile women in corporate sectors, politics, business and academia who have emerged as beacons of progress and role models for many aspiring young women. However, while these success stories are inspiring, they represent only a fraction of the broader reality for women in Uganda. The economic empowerment of urban women often masks the deep-seated challenges that many underserved and underprivileged women continue to face, particularly in rural areas and the informal economy.

The Illusion of Success: Is Uganda’s Economic Empowerment of Women Truly Inclusive?

The increased visibility of women in top leadership roles, boardrooms, and influential sectors may suggest that Uganda is on a progressive path toward full gender equality. However, this perceived success risks overshadowing the everyday struggles of women who remain marginalized. For every woman rising in the corporate world, countless others face barriers to education, employment, and financial independence. The critical question remains: Does the empowerment of a select few truly reflect progress for all women, or does it obscure a deeper systemic inequality that leaves the majority behind?

The Rural-Urban Divide: Disparities in Economic Empowerment

One of the starkest divides in women’s empowerment is geographical. While urban women have benefited from increased opportunities in education, entrepreneurship, and employment, rural women remain entrenched in poverty, constrained by socio-cultural norms, and hindered by limited access to resources. Many rural women still lack access to quality education, vocational training, and healthcare, all of which are essential for breaking the cycle of poverty.

Agriculture remains the backbone of Uganda’s rural economy, where most women work as subsistence farmers with little to no financial security. Despite their critical role in food production and rural livelihoods, these women face unequal access to land, credit, and markets. Customary land laws in many parts of Uganda continue to limit women’s land ownership, restricting their ability to leverage land as an asset for securing loans, expanding businesses, or diversifying income streams. Without access to formal financial services, many rural women are forced to rely on informal, high-interest lending, which further entrenches them in debt.

The Informal Sector: A Hotbed of Undervalued Labor

Beyond the rural-urban divide, women in Uganda’s informal economy face unique challenges. The informal sector accounts for over 70% of Uganda’s workforce, with women comprising a significant portion. Yet, these women often work in precarious conditions with no social protection, labor rights, or access to skills training that could elevate them into higher-paying, formal jobs. Street vendors, market traders, and domestic workers—many of whom are women—are frequently excluded from formal employment benefits such as health insurance, pensions, and legal protections against exploitation.

The persistent undervaluation of women’s labor in the informal sector further perpetuates economic marginalization. Despite their crucial contributions to Uganda’s economy, women in informal employment are often overlooked in national economic policies, widening the gap between them and their counterparts in formal sectors like banking, technology, or education.

Structural Barriers to Gender Equality: Socio-Cultural Norms and Legal Constraints

Uganda has made notable progress in establishing legal frameworks that promote gender equality. Laws around equal pay, land ownership, and anti-discrimination have been enacted. However, implementation and enforcement remain inconsistent, particularly in rural areas where patriarchal norms still dominate. Customary practices often take precedence over formal law, leaving many women without recourse when it comes to inheritance rights, domestic violence, or land ownership.

For instance, while women in Uganda legally have the right to own land, customary practices often restrict this in reality, with men continuing to control the majority of land assets. Such gendered inequalities hinder women’s ability to participate meaningfully in Uganda’s economic growth. Moreover, socio-cultural expectations around women’s roles in family and society confine them to unpaid domestic work, limiting their economic independence and reinforcing gender-based disparities.

Bridging the Gap: A Holistic Approach to Women’s Emancipation

To achieve true collective growth, Uganda must move beyond the façade of selective empowerment and focus on creating an inclusive environment where every woman, regardless of background or location, can thrive. A multifaceted approach that addresses structural, financial, and socio-cultural barriers is essential to making women’s empowerment a reality for all Ugandan women.

Expand Access to Education and Skills Development

Education is the foundation of women’s empowerment. While significant efforts have been made to improve girls’ enrollment in schools, the focus must now shift to retention and completion rates, particularly in rural areas. Additionally, vocational and technical training should be prioritized to equip women with practical skills for emerging fields like technology and engineering.

Financial Inclusion and Women-Owned Businesses

Financial exclusion remains a significant barrier to women’s economic participation. Expanding access to affordable credit for women, particularly in rural areas and the informal sector, should be a priority. Supporting women-owned businesses through capacity-building programs, mentorship, and market linkages can help women scale their enterprises and create jobs.

Strengthening Legal Protections

While legal reforms exist, enforcing them must become a priority. Customary practices that disadvantage women must be addressed through community engagement, legal education, and stronger enforcement mechanisms. Women’s land ownership, property rights, and protections against gender-based violence must be upheld to empower them with both security and the confidence to participate fully in economic life.

Investing in Social Infrastructure

Women, particularly in rural areas, are disproportionately burdened by unpaid care work, limiting their ability to engage in paid employment or entrepreneurship. Investing in social infrastructure—such as childcare services and healthcare facilities—would help alleviate this burden, enabling more women to participate in the formal economy.

Political Representation and Leadership Development

Encouraging women’s political participation at all levels is critical. Women must be represented not only in Parliament but also in local governance structures, where decisions affecting their daily lives are often made. Leadership development programs for young women will ensure a pipeline of empowered female leaders for future generations.

Toward a More Inclusive Future: Empowering Women for National Growth

The economically empowered urban woman should not serve as a mask for the struggles of the unprivileged and underserved. Instead, she should be part of a broader, inclusive movement to uplift every woman in Uganda. National growth cannot be truly achieved until all women—from rural farmers to informal sector workers—are provided with equal opportunities to contribute to and benefit from the country’s development.

Uganda’s path to becoming a middle-income country requires harnessing the potential of all its citizens, particularly women, who represent half of the population. Empowering women is not just a matter of social justice—it is an economic imperative. By ensuring that every woman is emancipated and empowered, Uganda can unlock unparalleled growth, foster innovation, and build a more inclusive and sustainable future.