Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development is a Government Ministry with a responsibility to empower communities in diverse areas. The Ministry promotes cultural growth, skills development and labour productivity while promoting gender equality, labour administration, social protection and transformation of communities.

This Ministry commonly call Ministry of Gender has one of its major tasks to ensure that all Ugandans enjoy  better standards of living, especially the disadvantages  and vulnerable groups.  

The Ministry came into being by a constitutional requirement of the 1995 Constitution, Chapters 4 and 16 which mandates government to: “empower communities to harness their potential through skills development, Labour productivity and cultural growth.” The constitution advocates for protection and promotion of fundamental rights of the poor and other vulnerable groups as well as institutions of traditional or cultural leaders.

It is comprised of the Social Development Sector (SDS) that promotes issues of social protection, gender equality, equity, human rights, culture, decent work conditions and empowerment for different groups such as women, children, the unemployed youth, internally displaced persons, the older persons and persons with disabilities.

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) is the lead agency for this sector and is charged with the development and implementation of the Social Development Investment Plan (SDIP) with the mandate to empower communities to harness their potential through cultural growth, skills development and Labour productivity for sustainable and gender responsive development. `

Mandate:

• Empower communities to appreciate, access, participate in, manage and demand accountability in public and community based initiatives;

•   Protect vulnerable persons from deprivation and livelihood risks;

•  Create an enabling environment for increasing employment opportunities and productivity for Improved livelihoods and social security for all, especially the poor and vulnerable;

•  Ensure that issues of inequality and exclusion in access to services across all sectors and at all levels are addressed; and

•   Improve performance of SD institutions to coordinate and implement the SDIP at various levels.

Leadership:
Minister of Gender Labour and Social Development Hon. Mary Karoro Okurut provides political leadership to the entire Ministry.