Africa-Press – Uganda. Women leaders have called for 50 percent representation in top positions saying the lower numbers in decision-making has delayed proposals to support and empower them.
The women made the remarks during the celebration of the fifth National Women’s Week in Kampala yesterday.
The event was held under the theme “Thinking through a diversity’’.
The State Minister for Gender and Culture, Mr Peace Mutuuzo, called for the scaling up of women’s representation from 30 to 50 percent in top positions.
“A call for 50-50 equality for both men and women is the way to go. As women leaders, we emphasise the need to re-evaluate women’s representation in alignment with constitutional objectives. This is because more women have come up to take positions, but the percentage does not favour them,” she said.
“We have been advocating for active participation in the review process and urging individuals and organisations to raise their voices and engage with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs so that our voices are heard,” Mr Mutuuzo addded.
NGO view
The executive director of Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET), Ms Rita Aciro, said women should stop lamenting and fight for their rights.
She said Uganda has made a lot of progress, but women in leadership need more space to fight for others who are lagging.
“The women leaders who were there in the 1960s can tell you that things were different and they made their contribution though we still have challenges, but the truth is things are changing,” she said.
Ms Aciro added that although women are celebrating their achievements more representatives are needed in top positions so that they can also be included in decision making.
“We want inclusion in all financial platforms and it should not be rhetoric, we have to table issues that affect or impede women’s access to productive resources and government wealth creation [schemes] where they can improve their daily income and contribute to the country’s economy,” she said
Ms Aciro also noted that women representatives have a task to make sure that all women access health services.
“We want a reduction in maternal mortality rates to zero,” she added.
Women statistics
According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, Uganda ranks 109th out of 156 countries in terms of gender parity in top leadership positions. While the representation of women in the Parliament of Uganda is above the global average, the overall participation of women in high positions remains low.
Women hold only 37 percent of senior management positions in the private sector, and only 36.2 percent of leadership positions in the public sector.
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