The legal effectiveness of Uganda’s corporate governance framework in advancing gender equality as a human right on corporate boards

Abstract

Corporate governance in Uganda is founded on the principles of transparency, equality, non-discrimination, and responsibility. Uganda’s legal framework brings out strong obligations to gender equity. However, these obligations persist entirely on the motivational principles of corporate domain due to the lack of binding legal commands, enforceable shares, or clear duties on board structure. While Uganda is signatory to key international conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Maputo Protocol, the enforcement of some of the requirements into corporate governance preparations remains inadequate, primarily reliant on soft-law backgrounds such as the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Guidelines and the Companies Act, 2012.  The study was underpinned by the Feminist Theory. The supposition supporting this study is that gender-scattered boards lead to improved governance and tougher corporate act through improved discussion, accountability, and depiction. The Equal Opportunities Commission Act (2007) and the 1995 Constitution offer a legal foundation for favorable gender sensitive action, yet their bid to governance remains minor and oversensitive. This study suggests that closing the lacuna between constitutional standards and corporate veracities requires legislative improvement to entrench gender multiplicity mandates inside Uganda’s core company law. Without implementable instruments, the transformative budding of diversity remains muffled, rendering Uganda's corporate industry powerless to bind the governance and routine advantages of comprehensive boardrooms. As such, this research recommends that binding legislative reforms be passed that incorporate the requirement of mandatory gender diversity into the very heart of Uganda’s company law. This will help close the gap between constitutional requirements and corporate practice, ensuring that Uganda’s corporate sector benefits from all the positive attributes that gender diversity has to offer.