The Equal Opportunities Commission has revealed that gender discrimination is costing Ugandan billions of shillings. According to the Commission and reported by the Ugandan news source The Monitor Uganda, the loss in terms of gross domestic product among sub-Saharan African nations is north of $67 million (Shs252 billion).
The chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Ms. Safia Nalule Jjuuko, stated during a discussion on financing gender equality and women's empowerment that despite a growing demand for support for women-owned businesses, resources allocated for gender and equity interventions have been declining, falling to Sh9.4 billion from Sh9.8 billion in the 2019–20 fiscal year.
She went on to disclose that because programs like the Parish Development Model have the potential to promote small enterprises, spur economic recovery, increase household income, and assure food security, it is important to make sure they are effectively implemented.
Similar to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, gender inequality in Uganda is still a major problem that costs governments billions of shillings each year.
According to the Uganda National Household Survey 2019/20, at least eight out of ten women, or about 80 percent, spend at least 10 hours per week performing unpaid caregiving tasks like caring for children and the home, which "negatively impacts their time for productive work while those who work, especially in agriculture, lack access to capital and inputs, which explains the massive failure to scale up production."
According to Ms. Judith Mutabazi, acting manager of demographic and social sector planning for the National Planning Authority, the majority of women remain trapped in tiny farms with little value addition.
She stated that because many women who work in agriculture have limited access to funding to expand their businesses, the gender gap is exacerbated. Given that the majority of workers in the agricultural sector are women, experts have also argued that budgeting for the industry needs to be strengthened.
The government has been decreasing funding for agriculture-related programs; for example, the budget for agro-industrialization would drop from Sh1.6 trillion to Sh1.3 trillion in 2019.
Beyond growing their businesses, women and girls must participate in politics and the economy, according to Mr. Julius Mukunda, executive director of CSBAG. He also noted the necessity to ring-fence money for women-owned enterprises. Additionally, he asserted that this will be crucial to attaining the SDGs, which depend on achieving gender equality.
The amount of resources allocated to gender and equity problems has decreased, falling to Shs9.4 billion from Shs9.8 billion in the 2019–20 fiscal year.