In January 2007 Uganda embarked on a strategy to implement a nationwide Universal Secondary Education (USE) policy. This article investigates how gender differences in Uganda's informal and formal teaching markets, that went unexamined during the implementation process of USE, differentially affected male and female teachers' incomes. In particular, this article examines the myriad ways in which male and female teachers are coping with reduced income, and questions "empowerment" policies intended to expand educational opportunities for the masses but simultaneously refuse to engage with gendered differences within the educational work space. (Contains 10 notes and 1 table.)