Women Economic Rights in the Face of Climate Change in Uganda; A Case of Central and Western Uganda

Background Women's economic rights are pivotal for achieving gender equality and sustainable development. Despite global advancements, women in developing countries, particularly in Uganda, continue to face significant hurdles due to socio-cultural norms, legal barriers, and more recently climate change. In Uganda, efforts have been made to enhance gender equality, but their impact is limited, especially in rural districts. This study focused on selected districts to evaluate the status of women's economic rights, exploring the challenges and facilitators within the context of climate change. Objective To assess the status of women’s economic rights in Gomba, Butambala, and Kabarole districts, identifying the barriers and facilitators affecting these rights, and evaluating the impact of climate change on their economic empowerment. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional mixed-method approach in Gomba, Butambala, and Kabarole districts of Uganda, among 291 grassroots women aged 18 years and above engaged in agriculture and other ventures. A digitized semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were performed to summarize the variables and inferential statistics, to explore relationships between independent variables and women’s economic rights using Stata version 15 software. Qualitative data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically to provide insights into the contextual factors influencing women's economic rights. Results Of the 214 women in the study, 66.8% were aged 25–44, and 43% had attained secondary education. Nearly all (98.6%) engaged in income-generating activities, mainly farming (64%) and business/trade (26.5%). About 28.8% earned 300,000 Uganda shillings or more monthly, with 76.4% spending on school fees, 81.6% on health, and 50.5% on food. While 68.2% had access to land, only 33.6% legally owned it. Financial services were accessible to 86%, with 72.6% using loans and 40.2% having applied for one. Approximately 68% always participated in household income decisions. Close to half (47.7%) scored moderately on economic rights, and over 93% observed weather changes, such as decreased rainfall (69.9%) and increased droughts (63.8%), leading to reduced crop yields (76.8%) and crop damage (75.8%). Respondents adopted strategies like income diversification (42.6%), saving groups (31.6%), irrigation (30.6%), and crop diversification (29.2%).