Free Access | 2024-04-12

How to halt the declining labour force participation rates among female Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Uganda.

Authors/Editors: UN Women

Abstract:

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) face significant challenges in accessing labour market opportunities, but female PWDs in Uganda face more severe constraints in accessing employment. Whereas male and female PWDs’s labour force participation rates declined because of the COVID pandemic, by 2021, male PWDS recovered to pre-COVID participation rates, whereas female PWDs were yet to recover. Despite various efforts in place to increase their participation in gainful employment, the stagnation in labor force participation among female PWDs suggests that PWDs are unable to successfully enter the labor market. This policy note examines the challenges PWDs face in the Ugandan labour market, emphasizing the disparities and obstacles faced by disabled women. These disparities manifest in the form of gender-based pay disparities, limited representation in the formal sector, and inadequate workplace modifications to account for people with disabilities working there, as well as the low levels of schooling among school-going PWDs contribute to these challenges. These underscore the urgent need to promote formal sector inclusion, formulate gender-inclusive policies, enforce mandatory workplace modifications, and provide financial support and subsidies for assistive and mobility devices.