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The growing research on tourism and gender has emphasised the descriptive patterns of tourism employment by gender and related constraints, with little focus on women's active agency. Based on feminist understandings, this paper discusses how women in Mukono Parish, Southwestern Uganda, are navigating their local gender relations in order to work in tourism. The research followed a qualitative approach and utilized semi-structured interviews, participant observation and document reviews over an extended period of fieldwork between 2009 and 2011. Findings indicate women's willingness to exploit tourism work opportunities but still constrained by gender relations, which they keep negotiating. Mukono women are cautiously considering their immediate gains and losses for working in tourism, thereby associating with gender discourses and practices that limit their work opportunities. However, as women begin to work in and earn through tourism, some dominant local gender discourses and practices are slowly being challenged. Conclusions have broad-reaching implications for the field of tourism development and gender.

Enhancing opportunities for women and men in banana production is vital for promoting gender equity in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated the gendered differences in access to and decision-making over banana production resources and services in banana bunchy top disease affected areas in Cameroon. A mixed methods approach was used, comprising an intra-household survey ( n = 109 households). Six sex disaggregated focus group discussions and key informant interviews were organized to collect primary data in three communities in Ambam District in Southern Cameroon. These data were used to compare men and women in resource access and production within households and villages. Men had greater say in decision-making over productive resources and information services even when women were more involved in actual seed and site selection. Planting materials were mainly sourced from old fields although men were more likely to buy banana seeds than women farmers. In practical terms, access to and decision-making over production resources and services by women in the banana seed systems is vital for equitable outcomes. Disease pressure on banana production experienced in southern Cameroon may influence gendered access to resources upsetting resource access equity. In theoretical terms, the study reveals dimensions of gender linked differences in resource control even where participation was evident. Thus, it indicates the need for in-depth understanding of power and social relations within households and the communities. This study reveals the nexus of disease challenge and resource access in banana systems. The study will be of interest to development practitioners, researchers and extension agents.

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Unpaid care work as a development issue is embedded in the Global Agenda 2030, under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, target 5.4. The target specifically indicates the means by which women's unpaid care workload can be reduced, recognized and redistributed through the provision of public services and infrastructure, and the implementation and enforcement of social protection policies. In Uganda, care work is not addressed explicitly in policy or service provision. The passing of the Early Child Development Policy (March 2016) and the Social Protection Policy (November 2015) is a step in the right direction in reducing the care workload. Evidence from quantitative and qualitative data gathered in 2017 in the districts of Kaabong, Kabale and Kampala reveal that unpaid care work is primarily carried out by women and girls. Quantitative data that is representative at district level, depicting a typical nuclear Ugandan household, shows that both men and women are highly illiterate (i.e. they have had no education), especially in Kaabong, or semi-illiterate (i.e. they have had some primary education). Polygamous marriages/relationships are still prevalent in Kaabong, partly due to the cultural norms that allow men to 'inherit' widows of deceased relatives. Women's income earnings are still low, at 50,000-200,000 Ugandan shillings (Ugx) on average per month, mostly from agriculture and petty trading. Such characteristics have implications for decision making on critical issues concerning UCDW-including the distribution of work within households and between men and women, and the time spent on conducting these activities. Time use Findings on time use show that more men than women spend a large proportion of their time in a typical 24-hour day on paid work (24% for men vs 13.8% for women), while the opposite is true with regard to UCDW. Only 3% of the men indicated having spent some of their time in a given day on unpaid care activities, compared to 18.2% of women. Education and community activities were the least engaged-in primary activities; almost no rural women in the study were engaged in education as a primary activity. For children, those in Kabale and Kaabong spent more time on unpaid work such as water and fuel collection, while those in Kampala spent more time caring for younger children, preparing meals and washing clothes. Childcare This is considered to be among the most problematic unpaid care activities in households, with strong cultural norms attached to the division of childcare responsibilities. As expected, women had spent more time on childcare the previous day, especially in households that had children (below 18 years). Comparing age groups, women and men aged 31-50 years spent more time on childcare than youth (18-30 years) and older persons (above 50 years). For children who looked after their younger siblings, the burden increased among older girls (13-17 years), while it reduced for boys as they grew older. Division of work and social norms With regard to social norms, women do not accept...