Affirmative action for women representation on boards of public sector organizations in Uganda: What is the necessity?

The study sought to establish the necessity of women on boards following the affirmative action of at least one-third of female representation of public sector organizations in Uganda. There is scanty literature about women on boards in Uganda and a grounded theory methodology was applied. Twenty-two female directors serving on boards of public sector organizations in Uganda were interviewed. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously, utilizing initial, axial, and selective coding to develop themes and the grounded theory. The findings revealed that the necessity of women on boards of the public sector organizations in Uganda lies in the ethical case, followed by the case of the traits, and the business cases. While the traits argument was not as popular as the ethical and business cases in the literature, this study highlighted the importance of intrinsic attributes possessed by men and women that were applied in the decision-making process. A theory was developed to explain the necessity of women warranting the affirmative action for their representation on boards.