National Guidelines in Uganda - Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development

• National Action Plan for Women (NAPW), 1999
• National Gender Policy (NGP), 1997
• National Employment Policy

National Action Plan for Women (NAPW), 1999

In December 1999, the Government adopted the National Action Plan for Women for the period 1999-2004. The goal of the plan is to achieve equal opportunities for women by empowering them to participate in, and benefit from the social, economic and political development. The four areas for advancing the position of women are:

a. Poverty, income generation and economic empowerment;
b. Reproductive health and rights;
c. Legal framework and decision making;
d. The girl child and education.

The Plan provides a framework for implementing initiatives under these four areas by the various key players at community, district and national levels during the target period. The Plan outlines the strategic actions Uganda has to implement to concretise the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action.

National Gender Policy (NGP), 1997

The National Gender Policy was established in 1997, as part of Government policy of mainstreaming gender concerns in the national development process. The policy outlines strategies to achieve these objectives and the institutional framework, including roles and responsibilities of the line ministries, NGOs and the private sector.

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is the institution established to promote gender equity and is responsible for spearheading and coordinating gender responsive development. In particular, it ensures the improvement of women’s status and advocates for gender equity at all levels.

The Ministry provides technical guidance and back up support to other institutions engaged in gender sensitive development planning. It also liaises with other actors in identifying and drawing attention to key gender concerns as well as initiating actions to address them such as law reform and awareness campaigns.

National Employment Policy

There is a draft (as of 2003) national employment policy, which aims at the promotion of more rapid productive employment in all sectors of the economy. The draft spells out the need to analyse and understand the implications of gender roles in labour management and strategies to reduce them.