Gender, youth and urban labour market participation: evidence from the catering sector in Lira, Northern Uganda. SLRC Working Paper 27

Abstract

Drawing on qualitative data this study seeks to generate evidence on how urban labour markets actually work through an investigation of young people’s participation in the catering sector of Lira, a large and expanding town in post-conflict northern Uganda. The paper covers (1) how young people access the urban labour market in general and the catering sector in particular; (2) the terms of young people’s participation in the sector; and (3) the effects and meanings of this participation. Access to and participation in the catering sector is compared with two other popular sectors in Lira town – carpentry and hairdressing