Experts in gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights have called out employers to highly uphold women’s rights and offer equal opportunities to women in their workplaces.
This call was made during the 6th Annual Symposium on Business and Human Rights in Uganda, which took place on November 5, 2024, at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala.
Lillian Byarugaba Adriko, the CEO of FIDA Uganda, an NGO that advocates for gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights, said that the gap in awareness among women regarding workplace violations, particularly in hierarchical settings, is a significant barrier to achieving equitable working conditions.
“Some companies still have only men at the top of managerial positions; this creates an environment where there is gender inequality. Most women do not know about the violations in their workplaces with respect for their leaders and subordinates. We call upon businesses to ensure gender equality in work places because it’s only a woman who will understand a fellow woman,” Adriko said.
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Esther Kisembo, the program coordinator at ActionAid, Uganda, noted that job contracting is a myth for women, especially in rural areas, stating that most lack knowledge of the validity of a contract and always run into work for sustenance.
“Without a contract in a workplace, one’s rights have been violated. Most women are hired into work places to carry out simple duties like cleaning offices and office attendants and are not offered contracts. This culture is very bad for women and has left most of them lagging behind,” she noted.
During the two-day symposium, experts called upon employers to respect women’s rights in workplaces and also offer equal opportunities for them, with the reason that a nation only grows with responsible mothers and women.
