Uganda Bankers Association launches program to promote growth of women in banking and finance

The Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) has launched the Women Economic Empowerment Initiative (WEEI), a program that will serve as a focal point to address issues that hinder the progress of women in the financial sector, professional setting and ultimately women entrepreneurs.

This social impact initiative will contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 5; Achieve Gender Equality & Empower All Women and Girls. It aims to create an enabling environment that promotes the growth of professional women in Banking and Finance.

In collaboration with Bank of Uganda, member financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders, UBA seeks to promote the growth of not only professional women in banking and finance but also the wider base of women entrepreneurs and girls yearning for equal opportunity and participation in economic activity by leveraging their talents.

UBA Chairperson Sarah Arapta noted that the WEEI stands as a cornerstone of their ESG strategy with the forum serving as a central platform for addressing the challenges obstructing women’s advancement in banking, finance, and entrepreneurship.

“Women make up 50% of the global population and constitute 40% of the global workforce, yet they only own about 1% of the world’s wealth. In Uganda, women make up 52.5% of the population,” she explained.

Arapta further acknowledged that in traditional settings, cultural conditioning often skews power dynamics, decision-making, and entrepreneurship, leaving women at the fringes.

“However, in recent years, Uganda is making commendable efforts to reverse this state of affairs through affirmative policy actions across public administration, education, and resource allocation, thanks to the Government’s unwavering stewardship in this direction emphasizes the growing recognition of women’s leadership value in the financial sector. In the financial industry, women leaders make a positive impact, yet gender diversity efforts persist,” she explained.

Speaking at the launch, Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor Micheal Atingi-Ego revealed that more women secure leadership roles, but top-tier positions still lack representation.

“Ongoing efforts are crucial to promote women into leadership across sectors. Men continue to outnumber women in financial industry leadership roles. Shockingly, a 2019 Deloitte report revealed that out of 107 financial institutions in the United States, merely six had female CEOs. While women are breaking into the industry, reaching executive levels remains a formidable challenge, frustrating the full realization of their valuable contributions. In a 2016 survey by Oliver Wyman involving 850 global financial professionals, including millennial women in finance,” he noted.

He added that it was disheartening to discover that little had changed in the sexist workplace culture over three decades.

“Their 2020 report on the same issue underlines the facts that while the number of women in finance is increasing; it remains below the desired level. Although explicit sexism is less prevalent today, gender roles and unconscious biases persist as implicit bias – automatic reactions beyond conscious control,” said Atingi.