Women’s Economic Justice Network (WEJUNET)
WEJUNET is a women’s network that advocates for a wide range of
economic justice issues, all of which limit women’s freedom and success. These include welfare reform, livable wages, paid sick leave, job discrimination, pay equity, financial literacy, and more. When women have decent quality work, labour rights and earn a fair living, they can escape poverty and build prosperity. Across Uganda, women perform the worst work, earn less than men, do more unpaid work, and bear the brunt of the widening wealth gap. In many communities, husbands have the right to stop their wives from taking jobs, which isolates them and creates economic dependency. Caring for the family and home has long been the responsibility of women. This unpaid work means women have less time to participate in their communities and politics, perform paid work, and care for themselves. When a woman is paid a fair and living wage and works in safe and decent working conditions, she has the power to lift herself out of poverty. This benefits her family and her community too. To create a more just society, we must prioritize women. We must build an economy that works for women.

WEJUNET vision

Having a more just society prioritizing women, building an economy that works for women.

WEJUNET Missionn

Empowering women have decent quality work, labour rights and earn a fair living in order to escape poverty and build prosperity.

WEJUNET Objectives

1) To empower women to be able to generate a regular and
independent source of income and impact women’s ability to make decisions and have control over their lives.
2) To address barriers that deny women an opportunity to earn a decent living.
3) To address barriers to women’s economic justice including
constraints on time due to care work, social norms that limit women’s freedom outside the home, lack of access to finance to start a business, discriminatory policies at work, and the threat of violence or harassment in the workplace.
4) To promote Gender equality by ensuring that women have equal access to, and control over resources, and equal participation and
influence in economic decision-making.
5) To promote Women’s economic empowerment and ensure that women are able to benefit from economic activities on terms which recognize the value of their contribution, respect their dignity and make it possible for them to negotiate a fair income.

Why do women not have economic rights?

In Uganda, women take on the burden of unpaid care and domestic work,
from looking after their children and caring for relatives to doing household work. This reinforces gender inequality as women have less time to do paid work and to attend to their own wellbeing and self-care. When women do find paid jobs, they struggle to find decent work. This means finding a job that guarantees a fair income, safe working conditions and social protection. In fact, in some communities husbands can stop their wives from working. Women are paid less than men. Most women are left out of decision making around the use, ownership and control of land and resources. This violates their right to economic rights including the right to own and control land, food and water. In turn, they can’t earn a livelihood.