Report No: AUS0002428 . Uganda UG-Women’s Economic Empowerment Communication Resources . June 25, 2021 . SOC . Document of the World Bank . . © 2021 The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. All queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. Communication Resources Contents Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................................... ii 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment................................................................. 1 1.3. Justification for Communication Strategy.......................................................................................... 3 2. Stakeholder and Communication Situation Analysis ................................................................................ 4 2.1. Stakeholder analysis .......................................................................................................................... 4 2.2. Key strategic knowledge sharing and communication challenges for WEE ...................................... 6 2.3. Communication context..................................................................................................................... 6 3. The Communication Strategy for Women’s Economic Empowerment .................................................... 8 3.1. Communication goal and objectives .................................................................................................. 8 3.2. Pathway for scaling up WEE agenda .................................................................................................. 9 3.3. Building a strategic knowledge base, products, and communication tools ...................................... 9 3.4. Engaging policy, decision makers..................................................................................................... 10 3.5 Citizen engagement .......................................................................................................................... 11 3.6 Building partnerships for WEE .......................................................................................................... 12 4. Implementation Plan .............................................................................................................................. 15 4.1. Monitoring and evaluation plan ...................................................................................................... 17 4.2. Roles and responsibilities................................................................................................................. 18 4.3. Budget .............................................................................................................................................. 19 Appendixes.................................................................................................................................................. 20 Appendix A. Summary of stakeholder and communication analysis...................................................... 20 Appendix B. Portraits of primary target groups for WEE: Women entrepreneurs and girls ................. 25 Portrait of rural and peri-urban small-scale women entrepreneurs .................................................. 25 Portrait of urban women entrepreneurs ............................................................................................ 25 Portrait of girls and young women ..................................................................................................... 26 i Acronyms CSO civil society organization FBO faith-based organization GBV gender-based violence GoU government of Uganda MGLSD Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development NGO nongovernmental organization UNHS Uganda National Household Survey WEE women’s economic empowerment ii 1. Introduction The communication strategy below charts out the approaches that will be used to disseminate policy briefs and best practice documentation on women’s economic empowerment (WEE) generated by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) and the World Bank. The strategy will inform both current and future implementations in WEE. Objectives: The communication strategy developed with technical assistance from World Bank has the objectives to: (1) improve strategic knowledge base on WEE and communication capacity through the creation of knowledge products and communication tools; (2) increase political commitment and investment in WEE through the engagement of policy and decision makers; (3) increase public awareness about the benefits of WEE through citizen engagement, and (4) build strategic partnerships for promotion of WEE. 1.1. Background The MGLSD, with support from World Bank, is convening, enhancing, and developing a comprehensive approach on women’s economic empowerment (WEE), with an emphasis on gender-inclusive COVID-19 recovery through a three-pronged approach involving: (1) a participatory platform for policy dialogue; (2) operational focus and innovation; and (3) strategic knowledge sharing and communications. The objective is to support the government of Uganda (GoU) by facilitating a policy dialogue, fostering partnerships, and providing evidence-based recommendations for reforms and investments to promote WEE. 1.2. Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment Uganda’s economy has grown substantially over the last decade, with an average real gross domestic product growth rate of 4.89 percent between 2010 and 2020. 1 Nonetheless, the share of Ugandans living in poverty increased from 19.7 percent in 2012/13 to 21.4 percent in 2016/17. 2Accordingly, more than 10 million Ugandans are living below the national poverty line. Gender inequality makes women and girls more vulnerable to extreme poverty, and this consequently negatively affects their ability to actively contribute to and reap the benefits of economic growth. Uganda ranks 127th out of 162 countries in the United Nations’ Gender Inequality Index, with a score of 0.531. 3 Such inequality affects women’s capacity to take full advantage of economic opportunities, including jobs, financial services, skills development, market information, property, and other 1 International Monetary Fund (IMF). 2020. World Economic Outlook. Washington, DC. 2 Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) 2018. The country continues to grapple with the lack of inclusive, violence- free, and diverse workplaces; equal pay for work of equal value; maternity protection; and the minimum social protection standards (UNFPA 2019). Uganda National Household Survey 2016/2017. Kampala. 3 United Nations. 2019. Human Development Report. Briefing Note: Uganda. By way of comparison, the Gender Inequality Index score for the Sub-Saharan region is 0.573. 1 productive assets. More specifically, gender inequalities are manifest in the economic realm in the following ways: • Access to education. Women’s ability to achieve their full economic potential is constrained by limited access to education. The average number of years of schooling among Ugandan women is 5.7 compared with 6.3 among men; and about 10 percent of women have zero years of schooling compared with 4 percent of men (World Bank 2020).4 • Unemployment and limited access to jobs. Women, especially young women, and including those transitioning from school to work, are more affected by unemployment and limited access to jobs than their male counterparts are. On top of earning less than men at the workplace, women are relegated to the informal sector and unstable jobs. According to the Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) 2016–17, 71 percent of informal sector workers involved in vulnerable employment were women. • Low profit margin for women entrepreneurs. Women operating their own small enterprises have low profit margins—30 percent lower than those owned by men (World Bank 2019), mainly due to their working in less productive sectors. • Limited access to credit and productive assets. Women in business cannot easily access affordable credit and productive assets due to low levels of land ownership or property to use as collateral. Property ownership among women remains a challenge: 31 percent of women own land compared with 48 percent of men, and only 38 percent of women own a house compared with 54 percent of men (UNHS 2016). • High prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV): Fifty-six percent of Ugandan women report having experienced violence by their current or most recent spouse or partner, and 22 percent report having experienced sexual violence (UDHS 2016). 5 Such incidences of GBV increases risks posed to the women’s economic activities. • Negative social norms. Deeply ingrained social norms that assign childrearing and household chores to women and economic production roles to men affect women’s ability to work. Such norms also limit a woman’s control over the resources she generates. An estimated 53 percent of employed married women do not make independent decisions about how to spend their earnings (UNHS 2016). All these barriers perpetuate gender inequality and affect efforts to achieve full women’s empowerment. The impact of COVID-19 on women’s economic activities has further aggravated the situation. 4 World Bank. 2020. Empowering “Women and Girls to Accelerate the Demographic Transition. A Country Snapshot of the Current Situation and World Bank Support.” Country Note Uganda. 5 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (2016). 2 Over the last five years, MGLSD has, under the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment thematic area, tried to address the inequality that exists between men and women, boys, and girls with respect to access to and control over productive resources, opportunities, and services. The major focus of this thematic area is on WEE. It includes: (1) providing start-up capital (credit) and other financial services to women to start and grow their economic enterprises; (2) skills for enterprise and extending markets for products and services; and (3) advocating for enforcement of the reservation schemes under the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act (PPDA) so that women can provide goods and services to government institutions. The target is to: (1) increase women-owned environmentally friendly enterprises; (2) increase beneficiaries of women revolving funds; (3) mainstream gender and women’s rights in all the 16 sectors; (4) increase GBV safety shelters and advisory centers, reduce GBV cases; and (5) increase women in leadership positions. 6 1.3. Justification for Communication Strategy Strategic knowledge sharing and communication is one of the three pillars of World Bank support to the GoU toward scaling up the WEE agenda. The goal of the knowledge-sharing pillar is threefold: (1) to share evidence with the Ugandan government on solutions to address WEE that has been produced by the Bank and external partners; (2) to disseminate policy briefs outlining the impacts of addressing key gender gaps or supporting WEE; and (3) to design communication tools reflecting the GoU and national stakeholders’ views on WEE. 6 MGLSD. Social Development Sector Plan (SDSP) 2015/16—2019/20 3 2. Stakeholder and Communication Situation Analysis A stakeholder and communication analysis conducted in preparation for this strategy development identifies: (1) key stakeholders; (2) their needs, challenges, and opportunities in relation to women and girls’ economic empowerment; (3) key strategic knowledge sharing and communication needs and challenges related to WEE interventions; and (4) potential communication channels of engagement based on the Ugandan context. 2.1. Stakeholder analysis A stakeholder analysis was carried out to identify key stakeholders for WEE engagement; their needs, challenges, and opportunities regarding WEE; related strategic knowledge and communication challenges; and the most appropriate channels of engagement. Information was collected through document review, in-depth interviews, and online seminar discussions with a cross-section of 22 stakeholders, including women entrepreneurs and girls about to complete school in urban Kampala or in one of the rural districts (see appendix A for a detailed matrix on the stakeholder mapping and analysis. 7 Public. The public is composed of women, men, girls, and boys, whose understanding and appreciation of the benefits of WEE is limited. Discriminatory gender norms and behavior reinforces discrimination and violence against women and girls, and well as the perception that a woman can only engage in a small business near her home. A public awareness campaign through the mass and social media is required to increase understanding of the benefits of WEE and of nonviolence toward women. Small-scale rural and peri-urban women entrepreneurs. This category includes women ages 25 and older who operate small businesses in a rural or peri-urban area whose potential to grow remains unexplored (see appendix B for a portrait of this group). 8 Most lack access to affordable credit, entrepreneurship knowledge and skills (e.g., value addition and marketing), and land rights to use as collateral. Other challenges include financial illiteracy, inadequate support networks and groups, low use of technology, GBV, and competing child and household chores. These women need knowledge-and- skills-building sessions to help them manage and grow their businesses, which can be best delivered through strong women groups and support networks, as well as with tailored radio programs. Urban women-owned businesses. This segment is composed of women entrepreneurs—mostly in urban areas—operating in male-dominated sectors whose businesses have the potential for growth. In addition to the above-mentioned challenges, these women entrepreneurs are also frequently 7 The stakeholders and documents reviewed and interviewees were from MGLSD, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, World Bank, National Women Council, Bill Gate Foundation, Care Uganda, Private Sector Foundation, Save the Children Delight Uganda Ltd, Standard Chartered Bank, UN Women, National Planning Authority, Adjumani Women Entrepreneurs Association, Voices for African Development, MOTIV Uganda; women entrepreneurs and girls in vocational institutions. 8 The portrait of a typical rural small-scale entrepreneur based on the findings of the stakeholder analysis 4 outcompeted by men in winning tenders due to a lack of skills and competencies to participate in contract bidding. These women also need to join start-up accelerator programs, work with an incubation hub/center, and gain information and skills on how to start or grow a business. These women tend to be growth-minded regarding opportunities, eager to receive support to grow or start a business. They can be guided to take advantage of online business platforms to access a wider market, e.g., free e- commerce hosting services and free online business management courses, as well as to use LinkedIn to build professional networks (see appendix B for a portrait of this segment). Girls and young women. This segment is composed of young women and girls who have left school but remain unemployed, as well as those about to complete school, e.g., in vocational and technical training institutions see appendix B for a portrait of this segment). They require guidance on how to find apprenticeships, mentorships in workplaces, jobs that match their skills and interests, and new possibilities if they fail to find jobs that match their skills. Employed women. There is a need to create awareness among women employees about their right not to be discriminated against in the labor market or at the workplace and not to be sexually abused or harassed, as well as the complaint mechanisms they can use to seek remedy in their rights have been violated; workplace support networks for women are also needed. Men. Men’s actions can negatively impact the enterprises of their spouses. It is therefore vital to engage them and change negative attitudes, beliefs, and practices that result in GBV and a lack of support for women-owned business ventures. It is also crucial that men understand the importance of WEE to improving the family’s welfare. Such efforts may increase their willingness to grant land user rights to their spouses and consent to have it used as collateral. Employers. This segment includes both public and private sector employers. There is need to engage them and advocate equality in the workplace (e.g., regarding hiring, retention, pay, and career growth), putting in place systems to eliminate sexual abuse in the workplace, policy guidelines on prioritizing women when hiring, promoting staff in male-dominated job areas, and childcare spaces for breastfeeding women. Policy and decision makers. The segment includes national and local government authorities and parliamentarians. There is need to share knowledge and best practices to increase their awareness of and commitment to promote and provide WEE services. The media. Engaging newspapers, radio and TV stations, and journalists can increase their appreciation of the importance of promoting WEE through their respective outlets. Regular interaction is needed with the media to pitch WEE content (e.g., news stories and features on successful women). Civil society organizations (CSOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs), development agencies, and academia. These groups have collected evidence regarding solutions to challenges to WEE as well as best practices, but the initiatives tend to be small in scale, and disperse, and exchanges of knowledge and experiences among NGOs and between NGOs and the 5 government are limited. These groups should be encouraged to document and share their knowledge and experiences and to build partnerships across NGOs and development agencies in the promotion of WEE. There is also a need for the academic community to engaged in more WEE-related research. Private sector. Some private sector actors are already investing in WEE, and there is the potential to strengthen partnerships with government actors. This will involve mapping out major business companies, build more partnerships for WEE to, among other things, start or scale up existing business incubator programs for women entrepreneurs, and include WEE in their social responsibility programs. MGLSD. Several policies and laws are in in place to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment and to protect women against sexual harassment at the workplace that, together with the existing programs (some funded by the GoU), provide a foundation for further WEE interventions. The GoU has prioritized WEE in its third National Development Plan (NDP III) in several of the proposed Programme Implementation Action Plans, i.e., human capital and private sector development. World Bank has expressed willingness to provide technical assistance to strengthen capacity on WEE and identify operational entry points to scale up this agenda. However, there is urgent need to build knowledge base on WEE and share policy briefs and best practice documentation to increase the stakeholder’s conceptual understanding of the key pillars of WEE and their prioritization in the existing plans. (see appendix A for detailed list of needs, challenges, and opportunities). 2.2. Key strategic knowledge sharing and communication challenges for WEE The above analysis identified several knowledge and communication challenges ranging from—lack of a knowledge base on WEE, products and sharing, and communication tools—to limited understanding of WEE; knowledge and skills, support networks and groups among women entrepreneurs to enable them grow their businesses, and for young women and girls to transition from school into work. Tackling of these challenges will be phased. This strategy addresses the scaling up of the WEE agenda by building a knowledge base and products on WEE and communication tools, plus sharing the products to the stakeholders. 2.3. Communication context A communication audit was carried out to get a better understanding of the reach of communication channels in the country. The audit focused on mass media channels (radio, TV, newspapers, internet), interpersonal and community channels. Radio has the widest reach. Up to 70 percent men and 59 percent of women listen to radio; 31 percent men and 21 percent women watch TV, while 16 percent men and 10 percent women read newspapers. Mobile telephone penetration is high. Up to 74 percent households (90 percent urban and 69 percent rural) have a mobile phone. Internet use stands at 23 percent for men and 9 percent for women. Only 14 percent men and 4 percent women in rural areas use the internet compared with 47 percent men and 21 percent women in urban areas. (UNHS 2016). Service providers, social networks and groups, and 6 inter-personal communication are trusted sources of information by an average of 50 percent adults and adolescents (MGLSD and UNICEF 2019). Channel mix: The above communication context underscores the importance of a mixed channel approach to maximize reach to the diversified audiences: radio and face-to-face for the rural audiences; and radio, TV, newspapers, and online platforms (blogs, FB, IG, websites, webinars) for urban and educated audiences. 7 3. The Communication Strategy for Women’s Economic Empowerment This section lays out the communication strategy for WEE. It builds on the stakeholder, audience, and channel analysis to determine the communication goals and objectives that will guide the development and dissemination of strategic knowledge products (e.g., policy beliefs, best practices) to increase awareness, demand for, commitment to, and investment in WEE services. The first activity will be to build a strategic knowledge base, products, and communication tools; followed by the engagement of policy, decision maker; citizen engagement; and, building partnerships for WEE. 3.1. Communication goal and objectives The communication strategy will be guided by the following goal and objectives: Goal: Scale up the WEE agenda in Uganda through knowledge building and sharing and through communication capacity enhancement Objectives • Build a strategic knowledge base, products, and communication tools: By 2021, MGLSD will have a strategic knowledge base, products, and communication tools on WEE. • Engage policy makers and decision makers: By 2021, policy and decision makers will have the awareness, knowledge, and commitment to invest in women’s economic empowerment. • Citizen engagement: By 2021, the public (women, men, girls, boys) will understand the benefits of WEE. • Building partnerships for WEE: By 2021, CSOs, FBOs, private sector, development partners, academia, and the media will have knowledge of and a commitment to promote WEE. The chart below shows the pathway or theory of change the communication strategy will use to scale up the WEE agenda in Uganda. 8 3.2. Pathway for scaling up WEE agenda 3.3. Building a strategic knowledge base, products, and communication tools Objective 1: By 2021, MGLSD will have a strategic knowledge base on women’s economic empowerment, products, and communication tools. Under this objective, MGLSD will develop a knowledge base based on both evidence on solutions to WEE challenges and practice drawn from in-country and external sources, notably the World Bank. The knowledge products and communication tools developed will include policy briefs, best practice documentation, and IEC materials (radio and TV spots, fact sheets). Policy briefs. Policy briefs are an essential tool for disseminating evidence on solutions and new knowledge issues such as WEE, and recommendation on the best options to deal with it. Policy briefs will be used to translate evidence on solutions to WEE challenges into messages relevant to the 9 Ugandan context and disseminate to policy and decision makers, CSOs, FBOs, private sector, development partners, academia, the media, and public. Best practices. A best practice is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven reliable to lead to a desired result. 9 Women entrepreneurs and groups will be selected based on practices that have proven to work and have shown results that are measurable. Those practices’ authorities will be given special attention. They will be recorded and short videos and print articles produced. The best practices documented will reflect the diversities in the country by region, age, socioeconomic status, and education. Summary of activities to build knowledge base on WEE and communication tools Strategic Intervention Activities Methods Strategic knowledge • Map out potential in-country and external strategic • Document review base building knowledge sources. • Interviews • Engage in-country and external partners to leverage • Observation knowledge. • Develop knowledge products on WEE. Communication • Review and clarify policies and laws. • Policy dialogues capacity building • Develop policy briefs. • Document reviews • Identify a diverse group of successful women • Interviews entrepreneurs and new workplace entrants. (recorded) • Collect best practice documentation (e.g., profiles • Observation and human-interest stories) in video and print. • Strengthen online platforms. 3.4. Engaging policy, decision makers Objective 2: By 2021, policy and decision makers will have the awareness, knowledge, and commitment to invest in women’s economic empowerment. Under this objective, policy and decision makers will be engaged both at national and local government levels, including line ministries, parliamentarians, local leadership, and councilors. Policy dialogues, policy briefs and IEC materials will be used to increase knowledge on the benefits, and commitment to invest in WEE. This is expected to increase participation and value placed on inclusion of WEE in economic development activities. Government agencies like the National Women’s Council have data on 9 World Health Organisation (2008), Guide for Documenting and Sharing “Best Practices” in Health Programmes 10 women leaders and groups from national to village level countrywide as well as convening power which can be used disseminate policy briefs at all levels. Channels: The knowledge products and will be disseminated through: policy briefings, webinars, news briefings, radio, and TV talk-shows, print media, online platforms (Blogs, FB, WhatsApp, IG, websites, e- mails), visits. Summary of activities for policy and decision makers engagement Target group Strategic Communication activities Communication channel/tools intervention Increase Advocacy and • Hold policy dialogues. • Policy dialogues awareness, capacity building • Disseminate policy • Online seminars political briefs. • News releases and briefings, commitment, • Share evidence on Op-eds and investment solutions and best • Media interviews, talk-shows in WEE practices. • Online platforms (e.g., blogs, • Compile and distribute Facebook, WhatsApp, IG, website, news releases. emails) • Learning events 3.5 Citizen engagement Objective 3: By 2021, the public (women, men, girls, boys) understands the benefits of women’s economic empowerment. Under this objective, a multi-channel approach will be used to convey information to the public about WEE and its benefits to women, families, and society; the needs, challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs, women in employment including domestic workers, young women and girls transitioning into work. The engagement is expected to improve public understanding and appreciation of WEE, trigger demand for the provision of services, and advocate for political commitment and investment. The campaign will, in the short run, be intensive and repetitive to create rapid awareness, understanding and commitment. Channels: Radio and TV talk-shows, print media news and feature stories, Op-eds, news releases, briefings, policy briefs, best practice documentation, online platforms (Blogs, FB, IG, website) 11 Summary of citizen engagement activities Target group Strategic Communication activities Communication intervention channel/tools Public (women, Citizen • Share information about the • Radio and TV talk-shows men, girls, engagement to needs, challenges and • Print media boys) trigger opportunities for women • News releases, briefings understanding and entrepreneurs, girls in transition to • Online platforms (Blogs, demand for work, women in workplaces. FB, IG, website) provision of WEE including domestic workers • IEC materials services • Disseminate information about the benefits of investing in WEE. • Disseminate policy briefs, evidence on solutions, and best practices. 3.6 Building partnerships for WEE Objective 4: By 2021, CSOs, FBOs, private sector, development partners, academia, and the media have the knowledge and commitment needed to promote women’s economic empowerment. Under this objective, strategic partnerships for WEE will be built with CSOs, NGOs, FBOs, and development agencies, private sector entities facilitating WEE in and outside the country as well as those with the potential to do so, plus the media. Development agencies, CSOs, FBOs: Multiple CSOs and development agencies are facilitating the process of economic empowerment of women in Uganda. The CSO/NGOs provide WEE services which include start-up capital for small enterprises, build the knowledge and skills of women, as well as advocating for WEE. The development agencies provide grants to the CSOs for their WEE activities as well as technical support to line ministries. The partnerships will seek to enhance women prosperity, equality, and safety in the workplace; increasing the success of women-owned enterprises through access to affordable financing, value addition and marketing, and skilling; and advocating for political commitment and investment in WEE. FBOs equally present valuable networks to reach their followers with information about WEE. They will be given IEC materials and lobbied to integrate WEE issues into their sermons. Private sector: A list of leaders from about 50 private companies will be drawn up and invited to a dialogue about challenges their companies face in empowering women within their businesses and outside, and how these difficulties can be overcome. The corporate leaders will share best practices where they have implemented solutions. A wide range of evidence to solution, best practice options will be shared with them on how the companies can: (1) streamline WEE into their corporate social responsibility policies and programs; (2) initiatives to help young women school leavers to transit into 12 work by providing opportunities for acquiring practical skills; (3) company policies on sexual harassment in the workplace; and (4) initiatives by companies to promote women entrepreneurs. They will also be lobbied to: (1) start business incubator programs targeting women; and (2) streamline WEE into their corporate social responsibility policies Academia: Academics at various universities will be targeted with policy briefs and best practice documentation on WEE, and they will also be encouraged to conduct research. Universities can also share information on promising practices and experiences. The media: The media will be engaged to popularize WEE issues through news stories, features profiling successful women, girls, and their challenges. The starting point will be to increase journalists’ awareness of WEE and the importance of promoting it through the media. Regular news releases and briefings, site visits, media interviews, and visits to media houses to pitch WEE content will be executed. Channels: Online seminars, letters, policy briefs, best practices, fact sheets, media briefings and visits 13 Summary of activities to build strategic partnerships Actors Strategic Activities Communication channels intervention and tools CSOs, NGOs, Build strategic • Map out CSOs, NGOs, development • Online seminars and FBOs, partnerships agencies facilitating WEE meetings development for WEE • Convene seminar to share evidence on • Visits, letters agencies solutions, best practices. • Policy briefs, best • Disseminate policy briefs. practices documentation • Establish a network for WEE and coordination mechanisms. Private sector • Map out about 50 major business • Online seminars companies. • Visits, letters • Convene online seminar to share • Policy briefs, best evidence on solutions, best practices. practice documentation • Disseminate policy briefs. • Lobby them to: (1) start business incubator programs targeting women; and (2) streamline WEE into their corporate social responsibility policies. Academia • Map out universities offering • Online seminars disciplines related to WEE. • Visits and letters • Convene online seminar on WEE • Policy briefs and best practice documentation • Lobby them to do research on WEE Media • Map out major media houses in the • Online seminars country. • E-mails, calls, and visits • Convene seminar to orient journalists • Media briefings and on WEE and the importance of interviews • News releases and op-eds promoting it through the media. • Policy briefs • Hold regular media briefings, interviews, and visits to media houses to pitch WEE content. 14 4. Implementation Plan Activities Timeframe/months M & E Indicators 1 2 3 4 5 6 Outputs Outcomes Objective 1: By 2021, MGLSD will have a strategic knowledge base on women’s economic empowerment, products, and communication tools. Develop strategic knowledge products; compile policy briefs; Number of knowledge Knowledge base on document best practices; Develop communication tools; strengthen products; policy briefs, best WEE online platforms practices, and communication tools Capacity to communicate on WEE Objective 2: By 2021, policy and decision makers will have the awareness, knowledge, and commitment to invest in women’s economic empowerment. Hold policy dialogues; disseminate policy briefs; share evidence on Number of policy and Number of policy solutions and best practices decision makers reached makers engaged with knowledge products Objective 3: By 2021, the public (women, men, girls, boys) understands the benefits of women’s economic empowerment. Share needs, challenges and opportunities for women Number of radio and TV talk- Percentage of people entrepreneurs, girls transition to work, women in workplaces shows aired reached and who including domestic workers; disseminate information about the understand WEE benefits of investing in WEE; disseminate policy briefs, evidence on Number of postings on solutions, and best practices online platforms Objective 4: By 2021, CSOs, FBOs, private sector, development partners, academia, and the media have the knowledge and commitment needed to promote women’s economic empowerment. Map out CSOs, NGOs, development partners facilitating WEE; Number of CSOs, Vibrant networking on convene seminar to share evidence on solutions, best practices; development agencies WEE disseminate policy briefs; establish a network for WEE and reached coordination mechanisms Number of webinars on WEE 15 Map out about 50 major business companies; convene online Number of business Number of companies seminar to share evidence on solutions, best practices; disseminate companies engaged with WEE programs policy briefs; lobby them to: (1) start business incubator programs internally and targeting women; and (2) streamline WEE into their corporate social Number of seminars held on externally responsibility policies WEE Convene an online seminar for academics and share policy briefs and Number of academics Number of academics best practice documentation reached who know about WEE Number of academics planning to research on WEE Map out major media houses in the country; convene online seminar Number of journalists Number of media to orient journalists on WEE and the importance of promoting it oriented on WEE reports on WEE through the media; hold regular media briefings, interviews, and visits to media houses to pitch WEE content Number of media engagement events, activities 16 4.1. Monitoring and evaluation plan Objective 1: By 2021, MGLSD will have a strategic knowledge base on women’s economic empowerment, products, and communication tools. Evaluation question Output indicators Outcome indicators Data source, and Timing means of verification Has MGLSD built a knowledge base Number of knowledge products; Knowledge base on WEE MGLSD records June 30,, 2021 on WEE and communication tools policy briefs, best practices, and Capacity to communicate on WEE Interviews to engage stakeholders? communication tools Review of products, tools Observation Objective 2: By 2021, policy and decision makers will have the awareness, knowledge, and commitment to invest in women’s economic empowerment. Is there increased awareness, Number of policy and decision Number of WEE projects Records July 2021 knowledge, and commitment to makers reached with knowledge Number of local government Interviews invest in WEE? products, tools authorities that demonstrate a readiness to include WEE in their budgets Objective 3: By 2021, the public (women, men, girls, boys) understands the benefits of women’s economic empowerment. Were members of the public Number of radio and TV spots, talk- Percentage of people reached and Records July–Dec 2021 reached by WEE messages? shows aired who understand WEE Reports Number of media stories, Op-eds Do they understand what WEE is about? Number of postings on online platforms Objective 4: By 2021, CSOs, FBOs, private sector, development agencies, academia, and the media have the knowledge and commitment to promote women’s economic empowerment What is the level of partnership Number of CSOs, development Vibrant networking on WEE Records July–Aug 2021 with CSOs, development agencies, agencies reached and engaged Reports and academia Number of seminars on WEE Interviews 17 What is the level of public-private Number of business companies Number of companies with WEE Records July–Dec 2021 partnerships engaged programs internally and externally Reports Number of seminars held on WEE Interviews Is there enough WEE content in Number of journalists oriented on Number of journalists oriented Records July 2021 the media? WEE Number of media reports on WEE Reports Number of media engagement Interviews events, activities Content analysis 4.2. Roles and responsibilities Activity Responsible entity Coordination MGLSD is the institutional anchor leading and coordinating the implementation of WEE across sectors Building knowledge base on WEE; products and communication MGLSD communication team, World Bank consultant, Video production tools (policy briefs, best practices documentation, IEC materials firm and IEC materials designer Engaging policy, decision makers MGLSD communication team, World Bank consultants; key stakeholders Citizen engagement MGLSD communication team 3 Building partnerships for WEE MGLSD communication team, World Bank consultants Monitoring and evaluation (e.g., reach, awareness, and MGLSD WEE communication team participation) 18 4.3. Budget Expense Description Quantity Unit cost Total Knowledge products and communication tools Policy briefs Compiling policy briefs 3 Best practice documentation 15-minute video (recording footage, editing/production, 1 20,750,000 transport, and hotel costs) Designing print version 1 Engaging policy and decision makers Online seminar for ministries, 40 people, room hire, eats in Kampala 1 government agencies Breakfast meeting for MPs 30 MPs in Kampala 1 3,800,000 Regional seminars for local Seminar not feasible due to COVID-19 SOPs; neither is online 10 government authorities in 10 venues seminar due to poor internet connectivity Citizen engagement TV talk-shows (1 hour) To disseminate 2 policy briefs; aired on 2 national TV stations (3 6 12,000,000 72,000,000 per station) Radio talk-shows (1 hour) To disseminate policy briefs; best practices; aired on 3 national 3 4,500 13,500,000 radio stations Short social media clips Postings to social media platforms 12,000,000 Building partnerships Online seminar for CSOs, NGOs, 1 development partners Online seminar for private sector 1 Online seminar for journalists Internet 30 35,0000 1,050,000 MGLSD coordination Communication expenses Telephone and internet expenses by MGLSD during coordination 5,000,000 of implementing strategy Subtotal Miscellaneous 10 percent of total budget cost 12,760,000 TOTAL 140,360,000 19 Appendixes Appendix A. Summary of stakeholder and communication analysis Target audience Needs, challenges, opportunities Knowledge/communication needs, Recommended channels, challenges tools Public • Limited understanding and appreciation of the benefits of WEE • Increase demand for WEE services • Radio spots and talk- • Low demand for provision of WEE services through: shows • Low awareness of needs, challenges faced by women entrepreneurs • Increased awareness about WEE and its • TV spots and talk-shows plus opportunities benefits, treating women nonviolently • Print media; news • Inaction on discriminatory gender norms and behavior which • Increased public awareness of needs and stories, Op-Ed reinforces discrimination against women and girls challenges women entrepreneurs, • Online platforms • Perception that women can only do small businesses and near women in workplaces, girls transitioning • Knowledge products home into work face and available opportunities (evidence, best • Lack of information evidence to solutions to WEE challenges, best • Disseminating policy briefs practices, and profiles) practices to learn from • Share knowledge products, best practices • Commemorative days on WEE (IWD, ILD, IYD) • Role models—successful women • Policy briefs entrepreneurs • News releases Small scale rural • Lack of access to affordable credit • Increase knowledge and skills in • Radio and TV spots and peri-urban • Lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills (e.g., value addition entrepreneurship • Radio and TV talk-shows women and marketing) • Provide information on how to access • Knowledge and skills entrepreneurs • Lack of land rights for collateral affordable credit building sessions • Inadequate support networks and groups • Mobilize women to form and strengthen • Support networks, • Low use of technology support networks and groups groups • Not exhausting potential for growth • Identify and link women to organizations • Information, Education, • Subjected to GBV which increases risks to their businesses already working on financial inclusion for Communication • Not breaking into male dominated businesses women and girls materials (IEC) • Lack of male support • Commemorative days • Competing household chores (child care, cooking) (Women; Youth and • Illiteracy Labour Days) • Limited financial literacy 20 Urban women Challenges • Promote financial literacy • Knowledge and skills businesses (those In addition to the above challenges, women entrepreneurs in the • Increase knowledge and skills in building sessions in business and category face additional challenge of being outcompeted by men in entrepreneurship • TV and print media those who aspire winning tenders due to a lack of skills and competences to participate • Build capacity on how to access • Online/social media to start one) in contract bidding. affordable credit from financial platforms (Facebook, Needs institutions WhatsApp, IG) • Join start-up accelerator programs • Provide information on how to use online • Support networks • Work with an incubation hub/center platforms to increase knowledge, skills • Mentorship • Need information and skills on how to start or grow a business • Strengthen support networks attachments, • Mentorship • Identity and link young women • Model entrepreneur entrepreneurs to mentors guest speakers Opportunities • Growth minded; easy to be supported • Have potential to grow or start a business • Online business could give them access to a wider market (e.g., free e-commerce hosting services) • Free online courses about business management on platforms such as udemy.com where they can take short courses • Use LinkedIn to build professional networks Girls and young • Lack information about how to transit into employment • Provide career counselling to young • Counselling sessions at women (those in • Lack of information (and affordable opportunities) about how to women and girls in schools about how to schools, in the school about to acquire practical skills (e.g. volunteering, internships, shadowing) to transition into work (up finding jobs that community transit into work back up their school certificates match their skills and interests, new • Radio and TV spots and recent • Wrong beliefs that certificates alone would lead them to dream jobs possibilities if they cannot find jobs that • Radio and TV talk-shows graduates) • Belief in getting jobs instead of creating one for themselves match their skills • Online/social media • Identify and link young women to platforms (Facebook, internship/mentorship opportunities WhatsApp, IG) Employed • Discriminated against in hiring, promotion and pay • Create awareness among women • Rights and remedy women • Subjected to sexual abuse and harassment employees about rights against awareness creation • Lack of awareness on labor, nondiscrimination rights and complaint discrimination in the labor market, sessions at workplaces mechanisms workplaces; sexual abuse and • Radio spots and talk- • Lack of child care facilities (e.g., for breast-feeding mothers) at harassment; and complaint mechanisms shows workplaces • TV spots and radio talk- • Poor pay, no pay, long work hours for women/girl domestic workers shows 21 Men • Many are not very supportive of women in or seeking ventures in • Change negative attitudes, beliefs and • Radio and TV spots and business practices that result in GBV, not talk-shows • Unwilling to grant land user rights to spouses and consent to use it supporting women business ventures • Awareness creating as collateral • Increase men’s understanding of the sessions for spouses of • Lack of understanding about WEE and the benefits of supporting importance of WEE business women women’s businesses ventures • Identify good practices of men supporting through their groups • National male involvement strategy can be used to reach out to women’s economic empowerment • Use of male champions men and involve them in WEE in women’s economic empowerment Employers • Public and private sector employers discriminate against women in • Advocate for: • IEC materials (workplaces) hiring, retention and pay • Equality in workplaces (hiring, retention, • Policy briefs • Lack systems to identify, report and follow-up on and eliminate pay, career growth) • Support groups at sexual harassment in workplaces • Put in place system to eliminate sexual workplaces • Limited opportunities for girls, young women seeking internship, abuse in workplaces apprenticeship, job shadowing • Policy guidelines on prioritizing women • Lack of child care spaces for breastfeeding women when hiring, promoting staff in male dominated job areas • Creation of support groups at workplaces Policy makers • Lack of policy briefs to clarify and position in public agenda the • Increase awareness of and commitment • Policy dialogues and decision enabling environment for WEE to WEE (seminars, media) makers (national • Limited knowledge about policies, laws that promote WEE and • Share knowledge products, policy briefs • Disseminate policy and local protect women against discrimination, sexual harassment • Advocate for: briefs, knowledge governments • Need to promote support networks and groups for women • implementation of policies, laws on WEE products authorities, entrepreneurs • provision of services that promote WEE • Learning events parliamentarians) The media • Lack of awareness about WEE and why it should be elevated into • Increase journalists’ understanding of • Orientation sessions on (newspapers, public agenda WEE WEE radio and TV • Can be an effective watchdog against the discrimination of women, • Pitch WEE content (news stories, features • Visits to media houses stations, GBV on successful women) • News releases, policy journalists) • Have media products/pull-outs, programs where content on WEE briefs, IEC materials can be published, aired (best practices, profiles of successful women entrepreneurs) 22 CSOs, NGOs, • Have experience and structures for facilitating WEE especially in the • Document knowledge and experience and • Seminars FBOS, rural areas increase exchange among NGOs and with • Meetings development • Have evidence to solutions to WEE challenges and best practices to government • Letters/emails agencies, learn from but the evidence the initiatives tend to be at small scale, • Build partnerships for WEE across NGOs, • Interviews academia disperse and there is limited exchange of knowledge and experience development agencies • Visits among NGOs and between NGOs and government • Engage academics to increase research on • Development agencies offer technical support in scaling up WEE WEE • Limited research on WEE by academics Private sector • Some private sector actors are already investing in WEE and there is • Map out major business companies • Seminars potential to strengthen partnerships with government actors • Build partnerships with companies for • Meetings • Presence of associations for businesses with convening power WEE • Letters/emails to share • Some companies run business incubator programs • Lobby companies to start business knowledge products • Some actors have limited understanding of the importance of WEE incubator programs for women • Visits in the workplace • WEE not included in their human resource and social responsibility policies MGLSD Opportunities • Build knowledge base on WEE and share • Review of documents on • Several policies, laws in place to promote gender equality and products evidence on solutions women’s empowerment, protect women against sexual harassment • Develop and disseminate policy briefs • Interviews in workplaces • Document and share best practices • Policy dialogues • Existing programs (some of which have been funded by the GoU) • Develop communication tools on WEE • Observation the proposed WEE can build on or complement. (IEC materials) • Meetings, workshops • The GoU has prioritized WEE in the third National Development • Increase awareness and knowledge of Plan (NDP III) in several of the proposed Programme laws against discrimination, sexual Implementation Actions Plans, i.e., human capital development, harassment in workplaces to improve private sector development, enforcement in workplaces • Willingness of World Bank to provide technical assistance to • Form partnerships for WEE strengthen capacity on WEE and identify operational entry points to scale up this agenda Challenges and needs • Lack of a conceptual understanding of the key pillars of WEE and their prioritization in the existing plans • Existing programs are low in scale, dispersion, and have been unable to articulate an overarching WEE framework and limited coordination of these programs; limited efforts to adopt a multi- 23 stakeholder and multi-dimensional and complementary approach toward the implementation of these programs. The interventions have not been evaluated to establish impact. • Emerging resistance to WEE among women and men. • Limited capacity in; mainstreaming gender programs and policies, budgeting; addressing barriers to limited access and control to productive resources by women; increasing women’s knowledge and skills to run businesses; and addressing negative patriarchal behavior which affects women’s participation in economic development • Unemployment of women remains high, especially among young women • Implementing guidelines on sexual harassment under the Employment Policy (2011) and regulations under Employment Act (2006) Act not yet in place • Weak enforcement of nondiscrimination and sexual harassment laws • Lack of strategic knowledge products on WEE (evidence on solutions, best practices) to share and attract investment • Lack of tools (policy briefs, best practice documentation, IEC materials—audio, video, print) to engage stakeholders on WEE • Limited knowledge in use of digital media • Lack of communication equipment (video, audio recorders) • Budgetary constraints in communication unit • Need to build partnerships for WEE with CSOs, FBOs, development agencies, private sector, media 24 Appendix B. Portraits of primary target groups for WEE: Women entrepreneurs and girls The primary beneficiaries of WEE are rural and peri-urban business women, young girls in their final year at school/training institutions and young women who are out of school. Below are examples of examples of target groups. Future messages targeting these groups can be derived from these portraits. Portrait of rural and peri-urban small-scale women entrepreneurs Thirty-two-year-old Margaret Ziraba is a small-scale commercial farmer in Buikwe, a rural district in central Uganda. She uses part of the family’s two-acre land to grow vegetables and fruits which she—like other emerging commercial farmers in her village—sells to intermediaries from Kampala. She also has a small piggery with the potential to grow bigger. Both ventures have proven profitable. However, her desire to grow more vegetables and expand the piggery is limited by the small acreage of their untitled family land. She keeps her small savings under the mattress hoping to raise enough money one day to acquire another two acres of land and expand her farming business. Her husband, a village mason, has not shown keen interest in her venture although he recognizes its contribution to the income and welfare of the five-member family. In the evenings, they listen to radio together but never discuss the wife’s business since he considers it as a venture by a “mere” woman that is not worth taking very seriously. Portrait of urban women entrepreneurs Forty-two-year-old Jane Kemigisha has been running a fruit juice processing and bottling plant for the last two years. The business initially faced a lot of setbacks: thefts, product quality issues, slow sales, and poor bookkeeping. But the fighting spirit in her enabled Jane to surmount the challenges. The business is now back on track. The market is increasingly appreciating her products but Jane is limited by capacity to expand and grow her business and profits. She is constantly on the look-out for opportunities to grow her business to the next level and spends a lot of time online, scouting for solutions. 25 Portrait of girls and young women In her third and final year at the Uganda College of Commerce in Aduku, Apac district, Priscilla Akullo is worried. She is completing her higher diploma in marketing but is unsure of the future. Unlike some of her classmates who have connections, Akullo is a typical rural girl. Her peasant parents have struggled just to get her through school. She does not know anyone out there who would help get her a job. In fact, the 23-year-old is clueless about where to start in the impending search for formal employment. As she contemplates an uncertain future, Akullo’s other fears revolve around what she has heard about job places. Some people say that one may have to sleep with a boss. Unwilling to compromise her Christian values, Akullo does not know how she will respond if a prospective employer asks for sex in return for work. What to do, where to go, who to turn to …? These are the questions which occupy her troubled thoughts as she prepares to write her final examinations. 26 Blog: Opportunities for Ugandan women’s economic empowerment during COVID-19 recovery Angela Nakafeero, Alys Willman, and Margarita Puerto March 1, 2021 https://blogs.worldbank.org/nasikiliza/opportunities-ugandan-womens-economic-empowerment- during-covid-19-recovery “We need to encourage women to believe in themselves and that it is possible for them to come out of poverty.” – Dr. Julian Adyeri Omalla, CEO Delight Uganda LTD, one of Africa’s fastest- growing woman-owned businesses. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has laid bare many of the deep gender inequalities in Uganda. Before the pandemic, women already spent about 3.5 times more hours than men each week on domestic labor. With school closures, these care burdens have only gotten heavier, giving women less time to devote to economic activities. Some have left the labor market altogether, and women’s businesses, which already were smaller and less profitable than men’s, were the first to close as the economy contracted. Across the Sub-Saharan region, 43% of woman-owned businesses were closed in the early months of the pandemic, compared to 34% of those owned by men. Many women rely on agriculture or informal trade for their livelihood, both of which have been adversely affected by the lockdown; and field studies of rural areas show a serious decline in household income, a drop in informal cross-border trade, and rising food insecurity. Refugees, 80% of whom are female and who primarily work in informal and agricultural sectors, feel these impacts acutely. 1 Women have always played key roles in Uganda’s economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the barriers they face to reaching their full potential, and there is an opportunity to remove those barriers as Uganda builds back its economy. What do women see as the way forward? With this question in mind, the World Bank and Ugandan government have hosted an inter-ministerial dialogue and webinar convening people from across Ugandan society to share visions for women’s economic empowerment. These conversations have highlighted three main opportunities: 1. Support women entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses and move into more profitable sectors. One in three businesses in Uganda is owned by a woman—the highest rate in the Middle East and Africa region. Yet women’s businesses tend to be smaller and mostly informal, with profits that are on average 30% less than those for male-owned businesses. Moving forward, there is a need to provide skills training and to support women’s innovation potential, access to credit and markets by targeting women who have the potential to grow their business. 2. Train up young women for success in the labor market. An increasing number of young women are likely to leave school without joining the labor market. In 2016, about 25– 30% of female youth between the ages of 20 and 24 were neither working nor in school, compared with 10–15% of male youth. These numbers had doubled already since 2012,and the pandemic threatens to worsen them more still. And in the labor market, according to 2018 figures, women earn about half of what men earn. Evidence from previous programs in Uganda shows that offering safe spaces for girls to gain life skills, learn trades, and financial literacy can boost income long after the program’s end. 3. Alleviate care burdens through quality childcare options. Emerging evidence from the indicates that providing child care options can boost women’s economic activity while also increasing profits. The World Bank has begun supporting some community child care projects, helping women stay employed. Other Bank projects have included childcare as part of skills training and employment programs, provided transport and stipends to babysitters who accompany trainees, or offered financial incentives to mothers of young children who complete the training programs, are other options. There is also a need to engage men in equalizing care responsibilities; evidence from microcredit and entrepreneurship programs in Uganda show that couples training can improve household power dynamics and increase economic wellbeing. The recovery from COVID-19 is the perfect opportunity to build back better by enabling entrepreneurship, addressing care barriers, supporting women’s and girls’ professional development. Listening to Ugandan women, we’ve heard what’s needed. It’s time to act. 2