Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Robert B. Levasseur

Abstract

Abstract Gender inequality is one of the greatest global development challenges. In the developing countries, including those in Sub-Saharan Africa, work-place gender inequality hinders the emancipation of women. The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the effects of foreign direct investment on gender inequality in the Ugandan private sector. Chabot and Duyvendak’s transnational diffusion theory and Becker’s theory of economic discrimination formed the theoretical foundation for the study. The research questions dealt with the relationship between foreign direct investment and the percentage of female workers, the percentage of women in leadership positions, and the gender wage gap in Uganda’s private sector. Linear regression analysis was used to analyze archival data from the databases of Bank of Uganda (BOU) and Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) between 2010 to 2017. The findings of the study revealed a relationship between foreign direct investment and the percentage of female leaders and the gender wage gap in the formal sector, while there was no relationship between foreign direct investment and the percentage of female workers in the formal sector. The implications for positive social change inherent in this study relate to identifying the potential for narrowing the gender gap through foreign direct investment, thus fostering gender equality in Uganda.

Share

 
COinS