The gendered effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on micro, small and medium enterprises in Uganda

The gendered effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on micro, small and medium enterprises in Uganda

The COVID-19 pandemic and its containment measures disproportionately affected businesses in Uganda. This brief highlights the differences in the pandemic effect on women and men-owned businesses in Uganda. The results show that fewer women-owned businesses stopped operations during lockdowns than male-owned enterprises, but suffered more severe job loss, had slow job recovery after full reopening of the economy, registered a higher decline in sales revenue in the first lockdown but copied up better, and were less resilient. Therefore, the government should strengthen efforts that promote positive gender attitudes, beliefs, and norms and hence gender equality, sustain and strengthen initiatives that provide financial support to women-owned enterprises, and capacity building of businesses to improve their adaptive abilities and resilience to shocks.

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• Published Mar 13, 2024