The Sacrifices you Make Today will Benefit Another Woman Tomorrow The sacrifices you make today may feel lonely, heavy, and unseen, but they are not wasted. Every barrier you break becomes a doorway for another woman. Keep pushing. Keep building. Keep lifting. The future she walks into will be shaped by the courage you choose today.

Primrose Kobusingye

I was 26 years old when I took on the mantle of acting head of marketing.

Yes, 26. Armed with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, I was thrown into the deep end and only later shown where the shallow end was. That moment became a defining turning point in my life.

I clung to the opportunity as though my life depended on it. Maybe it did. Failure was simply not an option.

After more than a year in an acting capacity, I transitioned to another institution in a substantive role as head of marketing.

On the surface, my journey may look like one promotion after another. But beneath the titles was unseen labor, years of mental strain, battles with self-doubt, and countless sacrifices made while trying to find my footing in a world not always built for women like me.

What I experienced was not unique. It is woven into the fabric of Ugandan society. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, Uganda ranks 83rd out of 146 countries overall, and 99th in economic participation and opportunity.

Women in Uganda earn 32.3% less than men on average per month. While men’s employment rate stands at 50%, women’s sits at 39%.

These are not abstract statistics. They are the headwinds many of us face every single day.

One of the hardest challenges I grappled with was the impossible choice society seemed to demand: career or home.

I have sat in interviews where questions about marriage came before discussions of my qualifications.

One interviewer once asked me, “If you cannot run a home, how can we trust you to run a department?” That question has never left me.

The boat was rocky. The wind blew fiercely. The waves shook me. But I did not collapse.

I chose to see every obstacle as an opportunity, an opportunity to clear a path for the young women who would come after me. Because formidable women did exactly that for me.

They shared their time. They mentored and coached me to be stronger than my toughest moments.

They showed me how to take my place at the table and own it. I think, especially of Patricia Karugaba, managing director of Nina Interiors, who to this day holds quarterly assessment sessions with me.

I am equally grateful to Goretti Massadde, Alice Karugaba, Christine Mawadri, and, more recently, Jane Kabugo. Thank you for being living proof that women lifting each other truly works.

Uganda has made meaningful strides. Women currently hold three of the country’s highest offices: vice president, prime minister, and speaker of Parliament.

Women make up 34% of Parliament, ranking Uganda 48th out of 187 countries globally. Uganda is also one of just seven countries worldwide to achieve gender parity in entrepreneurial activity, with women comprising 40% of all business owners.

Yet progress on paper must translate into daily lived reality. The 2024 Afrobarometer survey found that 42% of Ugandans still believe men should be given priority when jobs are scarce.

Structural change and cultural change must walk hand in hand.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme, Give to Gain, calls on all of us to share support, knowledge, and resources to accelerate progress toward gender equality.

Women’s support can only go so far without men choosing to push it further. When the gap is bridged, everyone benefits, and growth becomes exponential.

My call to every woman who has made it to the top: send back the ladder. Better yet, build a staircase as you climb, so the next woman finds the journey just a little easier than you did.