Post-primary education, women’s empowerment, and shifts towards gender equality: Insights from young women in rural Uganda

Dr. Jones was awarded a Research and Professional Development grant for a research project that examined the impact of secondary education on the lives of rural Ugandan women.

This fourth stage of a longitudinal, ethnographic case study conducted (May 2018) with a cohort of young women in rural Uganda, who attended secondary school together over 10 years ago, explored the participants’ reflections on the ways in which secondary education has impacted their adult lives, with a particular focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Findings indicate that participants believe secondary education contributed somewhat to their empowerment and more equal/respectful gender relationships, but improvement in girls’ education, and additional sociopolitical, cultural, and economic supports are required to maximize opportunities to achieve goals of gender equality and women’s empowerment.