Women march for equal pay

Wearing red T-shirts with different descriptions, over 20 women yesterday marched from the constitutional square to Uganda Manufacturers' Association (UMA) advocating for equality in work places.

Dubbed ‘Equal Pay Walk 2019’ the annual event which was running for its second year, saw activists engage in a walk around Kampala to raise awareness about the huge salary disparity between women and their male counterparts at work places.

“The purpose of this walk is to see how we push fellow women up, to see them having equal pay for equal work. If it means changing the laws, we can lobby for that because we need equality for all and by 2030 we have to be 50% equal with the men,” Said Dr Maggie Kigozi President of Business and Professional Women (BPW) Uganda who was the host of the event.

Ms Rosa Malango the UN Resident Coordinator who was the chief walker asked the government to work along with different company leaders and organisations on how to bridge the gap of equality in the country.

“We have the right polices, good laws, promotion and access for women at universities but we need to make sure that this is systematic across the society. The government can have annual discussion with CEOs and then discuss how women in both private and government sector can be included in the top positions,” she said.

The head of UN Women Dr. Maxime Houinato asked fellow men to join the women in fighting for equality of both genders without racism.

“All men until we get equal pay, we should be there for these women. We know how much women are dedicated to their work, they cannot leave their offices before the work is done. So no one should be paid more than the other,” said Dr Houinato