UGANDA – Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL), a subsidiary of East African Breweries Limited (EABL), is breaking the barriers Ugandan women face in their everyday lives, which have put them at a greater risk of poverty and limited negotiating power to access resources.
The company pledged to continue supporting women in skills acquisitions and other avenues similar to the initiative that it has undertaken in Luzira.
UBL, in partnership with the office of the Luzira Women Councillor LC III, has offered agribusiness training and donated 2,000 mushroom gardens to Luzira single mothers.
A study from the World Bank indicates that females account for 76% of Uganda’s workforce in the agricultural sector and contribute about 60% to 80% to the production of locally consumed food.
The study indicates that Women in Uganda and even in the whole globe are the backbone for the prosperity of an economy, which the Corporate Relations Director Uganda Breweries, Juliana Kagwa noted that many women living in urban settings bear the burden of growing income gaps in the society.
“We recognize that inequitable access to skills and resources are some of the key reasons promoting unequal opportunities for women that are becoming seemingly difficult to foster growth in the society. This means that equitable actions need to be put in place to empower women and one of the ways is through acquiring skills,” said Kagwa.
Fatumah Naigaga, Luzira Women Councillor LCIII highlighted some of the multiple hardships women living in urban slums, in particular, endure that range from basic needs such as; unemployment, nutrition, durable housing, limited access to clean water, and improved sanitation facilities, which often go unmet.
Naigaga lamented that the lack of basic needs has constrained women’s participation in all spheres of life with serious implications for human resource development, and the economic development of the country and the general state of gender equality is still a great need.
To cushion women from such ordeals they endure every day, Kagwa said UBL being a player in the private sector, pledges to continue working together with the local leadership to empower the women of Luzira and beyond so that there can be a complete poverty elimination and achieve gender equality for all women.
Uganda Breweries believes that the most inclusive and diverse culture makes a better business and a better world.
Kagwa added that this can be done through championing inclusion & diversity within UBL’s business, its partners, and communities around the areas of operation.
The brewer has Uganda Breweries Society’s 2030 sustainability action plan that aims at a sustainable and inclusive world by 2030 for all to create a purpose-driven business that succeeds in the long term.
Their commitment to inclusion and diversity is to ensure 50% of beneficiaries from the brewery’s community programs are women and that these community programs are designed to empower underrepresented groups in various communities.
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