Promotion of gender equality is a significant contributor to progress and achievement of all the goals and targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG development agenda articulates uneven access to paid employment and addressing uneven division of unpaid care and domestic work as key challenges to address by 2030. Ensuring that people have jobs that pay enough to support themselves and their families is considered a critical aspect of economic growth.

Infrastructure development, particularly road infrastructure and the follow-up roadside businesses are critical to eradication of poverty (SDG 1), eradication of hunger (SDG 2), creation of employment opportunities and sustained livelihood (SDG 8). Given that investments in road infrastructure development are a pre cursor to improvement in access to markets by women, trading opportunities, farm inputs and consumer goods all of which are critical ingredients for women and youth empowerment. Improvements in road infrastructure are closely linked to increased opportunities for income generation through roadside markets.

This study documents how road infrastructure development and improvement supports empowerment of women and youths in Uganda.