From Policy to Practice: Assessing the Implementation of Uganda’s Gender in Education Policy in Higher Education

Abstract

This study examines the design, implementation, and outcomes of Uganda’s Gender in Education Sector Policy II (GEPII) within higher education, focusing on women’s access, disciplinary participation, and academic progression. Despite its comprehensive gender mainstreaming framework, the policy’s effectiveness in achieving substantive equity remains limited. Guided by feminist institutionalism and policy implementation theory, the study employs a qualitative case study design, drawing on documentary analysis of policy texts, institutional reports, and national higher education statistics from the National Council for Higher Education. Findings show that GEPII is normatively strong and aligned with global gender equality and human capital development agendas; however, implementation is uneven and largely characterised by procedural compliance rather than structural transformation. While institutions have introduced gender units, revised policies, and implemented affirmative measures, these have produced limited change in entrenched inequalities. Quantitative evidence indicates improved female participation in higher education (45.7% of total enrolment), yet persistent disparities remain in technical and STEM fields (19.4%), academic staffing (32.3%), and doctoral attainment (20.3%), reflecting a pronounced “leaky pipeline” in women’s academic progression. Financial and institutional interventions have also yielded only marginal redistributive effects. The study concludes that Uganda has achieved notable progress in gender inclusion but limited transformation in gender equity, contributing to feminist institutionalist and policy implementation scholarship by demonstrating how informal institutional norms and weak accountability mechanisms mediate policy outcomes and sustain the gap between policy intent and practice in higher education.